The Ramen Princess
by WaterMonkey
Summary: Introducing Daagana. She's lived in Suna all her life and works in a ramen shop. But, the only reason she works is to get away from her abusive mother, Giia. One day she meets the head Kunoichi in her village...and her whole life changes.
1. Opening!

The Ramen Princess ((Scroll One))12/05/2007 19:11:00

"Crap." I breathed as I dug deeper into the sand.

"The book said it would be just below the surface." My hand passed over something prickly and I sighed in relief.

"Found it."

"Why would someone break into the herb canyon?" Temari asked annoyed.

"Their either desperate or stupid." Kankurou answered, not caring in the least. Gaara didn't say anything...of course. In the time before the Chuunin Exams, Gaara didn't do much...except kill and breath.

His existence was already withering away, and he didn't even know it. Temari glanced back at him or a moment and shuddered.

'He's never going to change.' She thought.

Up ahead was the Herb Canyon. The canyon was used for growing healing herbs used in medical Justus'. What little medical-nin they had thrived off this stuff.

Temari recalled Baki telling them why the herbs were grown in the specific canyon but she hadn't really paid attention.

As they got closer to the entrance Kankurou pointed out the two unconscious guards, laying in the entranceway.

"Well, whoever is in there, wasn't looking to kill anyone." Kankurou said.

As I finished picking the herbs I started to hear voices at the canyon entrance.

"Crap!" It wasn't like there was anywhere to hide. The canyon was just a round outcropping in a large sand hill.

The walls were all smooth and round, with one way in... And one way out.

I quickly got to my feet only to be yelled at by the people who were coming in.

As the three entered the canyon they saw someone stand.

"Hey!" Temari yelled. The person turned around to show their face...her face. She couldn't have been any older then Temari. And the look on her face showed complete terror.

"What are you-"

"Shut up Kankurou." Temari snapped.

The last thing Temari noticed was the girl's right arm. It hung limply at her side, covered...literally covered in blood.

It dripped into a small puddle around her feet. 'Blood and Sand.' The sheer thought of the two reminded Temari of Gaara.

"Who are you?" Kankurou yelled at the girl, which only seemed to frighten her.

"Kankurou. I said shut up." Temari threatened.

"Stay here." She ordered him, and began walking towards the girl.

The only thing worse then getting caught was getting caught by ninja. I could clearly see the giant fan on her back, and the Sand Headband around her neck.

'Sand Shinobi.' I thought. And not just any Sand Shinobi. Temari.

I knew exactly who she was once I got a good look at her. She was quite famous for her ability to control wind, and to control Gaara.

I knew about him too. But I always doubted he could be any worse then Giia.

Temari got about 5 feet away from her and got a good look at the terror in her eyes.

"What's your name?" Temari asked.

"...Daagana." The girl answered very quietly.

"And why are you here, Daagana?" Temari interrogated.

"...My arm." Daagana said and glanced down at her arm. Temari glanced down as well and saw that all the blood was leaking out of a wound on her shoulder. Temari noticed how deep the wound was and knew for a fact this girl couldn't hold on much longer.

"Give me the herbs." Temari ordered. Daagana reluctantly handed over the handful of herbs. Temari pulled on the sash that was tied around her waist. She folded it up neatly and placed in on Daagana's arm.

"Apply pressure or the bleeding won't stop." Daagana was wide-eyed as Temari pressed her hand firmly on her shoulder.

Daagana winced a bit, but held the sash on her shoulder. Temari bent down and placed the herbs on the ground and began to sort through them.

She had learned a little medical jutsu but not enough to heal her, only enough to apply medication.

She pulled the leaves off all the stems and discarded them, they were useless. Then she spun all the stems together.

"Sit down." Temari ordered, and Daagana dropped to the ground in a squat. Temari pulled back the sash and placed the twined stems right in the gash.

Daagana winced and looked away quickly as the stems began to glow green. The stems began to leak out white foam, and the foam stretched over the wound, and pulled the two sides together again, then evaporated.

What was left was a very large scar. Once the procedure was done Temari took her bloodied sash and tied it around the new scar.

"In case it reopens." She told Daagana.

I couldn't believe it. Temari...the strongest kunoichi in the village was helping me! Me, of all people!

She applied the stems just like I had read in my book, and the reaction was just right...even though it was really painful. And on top of it all...She gave me her sash! I guess I couldn't help myself.

I flew forward and pulled Temari into a hug. She was surprised at first but just sat there after a moment.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I squealed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said and pulled me off her.

"Now hurry up and get out of here!" She ordered.

I was smiling from ear to ear and I jumped up and ran for the entrance. Before I went out though I bowed the Kankurou and said 'Thank you', and I bowed to Gaara, and said 'thank you'.

Kankurou was confused and Gaara just glared at me, but it didn't matter, I was still smiling. I turned around ran out of the canyon, with the biggest smile on my face.

_** Two Days Later **_

"Temari! Can we get something to eat?" Kankurou whined as they came back from training. Temari was tired of babysitting, so she agreed. Gaara glared daggers at her.

"What? He's being really annoying." She accused, but Kankurou was already sitting down at a ramen bar.

"How many?" An old man asked him. Temari sat down beside him and Gaara sat on the other side.

"Three." Kankurou licked his chops.

"Gaara's not going to eat." Temari hissed.

"I'm eating two." Kankurou said happily. The old man was cleaning bowls on the other side of the counter.

"Hey. Aren't you going to start on our food?" Kankurou whined.

"Soon as my hired help gets here. She's late again."

"Why not fire her then?" Temari asked, leaning her head on her hand.

"She ain't got a good home life." The old man said.

"She comes in here with new cuts and bruises everyday." He picked up another bowl, and began to dry it.

"Her mum will come in and take all her money, and leave. It's a sad sight."

"Sounds sad." Kankurou said a little down.

"Yea. I tried to stop it once..."

"What happened?" Temari asked boredly interested.

"That darn woman declared she can raise her daughter however she chose, and it ain't my place to go against the woman, especially if the daughter don't complain."

Temari cocked an eyebrow.

"She doesn't complain? Even though her mom abuses her?"

"I told ya' it's a sad sight. The girl ain't strong enough to hate the woman. I tell 'er everyday, 'she ain't a mother anyone should have' but she's stubborn, and won't let anyone help 'er."

Suddenly a girl came rushing out of the back room.

"I'm sorry Ojiisan! I...tripped and...had to clean a wound." Temari's eye twitched slightly.

'Daagana.'

Okay, so I didn't trip. Giia pushed me into a pile of sharp rocks. Where she found them...I have no idea, but it hurt like crazy.

She told me it was because I had rolled my eyes, when in fact, I hadn't.

Ojiisan, I knew didn't believe me, but he never asked questions, because last time he did, I didn't come to work the next day do to extensive injuries.

I glanced over the bar, and saw the wonderful faces of the Three Sand Shinobi. 'Oh great.' I thought to myself.

"Serve 'um some." Ojiisan said, and went back to drying bowls.

I nodded my head and quickly began to fill three bowls of ramen. It took about 5 minutes because after about 2 years I had gotten good at it.

I placed a bowl in front of each of them, but when I placed one in front of Gaara, Kankurou snatched it away.

I glanced between the two of them, and saw Gaara didn't care, so I didn't intervene.

When they were all content I turned my back and began to beat dough into noodles.

"Where's Hiniku?" I asked my Ojiisan, with my back still turned.

I heard my Ojiisan chuckle, and I quickly spun around only to have a bucket of water dumped on my head.

I gasped in surprise, but before she could move I tackled her.

Temari was sort of confused when a girl with short blond hair, came sneaking in with a bucket full of water.

"Where's Hiniku?" Daagana asked. The old man chuckled when he looked over at the girl, who Temari guessed was Hiniku.

Just as the girl was about to pour it all over Daagana, she turned around just to get it all in the face.

Kankurou burst out in laughter, and Temari couldn't help but giggle. Daagana was quick to recover and tackled Hiniku to the ground.

Temari couldn't help but smirk.

"Dinner and a show." She laughed as Daagana and Hiniku decked it out on the floor of the shop.

Just when I was winning the worst person had to walk in.

Giia came waltzing in and leaned over the bar. The look on her face was classic, yet scary.

"You little lesbian whore!" She shrieked. I jumped to my feet quickly and tried to make myself presentable.

Giia looked like smoke was about to come out of her ears. Hiniku jumped up in front of me protectively.

"She is not a lesbian whore. If anyone is, it's you." Hiniku hissed through her teeth.

Giia's head would have spun around if it hadn't been for the expensive chocker she wore around her neck.

"Get out here you little slut." She hissed at me.

"Gana..." Hiniku said quietly, but I slowly walked around the bar and followed Giia outside the hut.

Before I could even say anything she slapped me right across the face.

It wouldn't have hurt so much, but she wore a ring on her right hand, and she had a habit if turning it around, and it just so happened to be the thing that came in contact with my face.

"Give me the money, you little wench." She hissed. My face stayed to the said, just so I could hide the tears that were building up.

"Give it to me." She ordered. I slowly pulled out my old wallet but she was inpatient.

She snatched the wallet from my hand, tore it open and took all the money, then dropped it on the ground and stepped on it.

"Have a wonderful evening Daagana." She said and patted my bleeding cheek.

Temari was anxious to know what was happening out there. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but that in it's self scared her.

From what the old man had told her, Daagana's mother was not the kind to let her give an excuse.

After about 10 minutes, Daagana came back into the bar...bleeding.

"Oh my gosh." Temari said as she stood. There was a deep, long slice across Daagana's cheek.

"I'm gonna kill her!" Hiniku said and charged towards the door, but Daagana quickly stepped in her way.

"Will you help me?" She asked, and looked up, exposing her bloodshot eyes.

Hiniku stopped fuming and placed her arm on Daagana's shoulder.

"Let's get you cleaned up, Gana." She said, and led Daagana into he back.

"I hate 'dat woman." The old man shook his spatula in the air.

"One of 'dees days, I'm gonna let Hiniku at 'er. That'll show 'er not to mess with our Gana."

Temari walked out and glanced down the road, she couldn't see Daagana's mother, but when she looked down she saw small drops of blood.

"If this keeps happening, she's going to die of blood loss."

_** Next Day **_

Temari walked down the streets alone. Her destination should be obvious.

She walked into the ramen bar, and saw Daagana pounding happily at dough.

"Daagana." Temari smiled. Daagana turned around and returned the smile.

"Hello Temari." She said. Temari's smile faded,

"How's your cheek?" But Daagana's smile didn't fade, or falter.

"It's getting better. Hiniku is a training to be a medical-nin, so it's good to have her around. She says I'm the perfect test subject." Temari cocked her head slightly.

"How can you smile?" she asked confused. Daagana shook her head, and put on a sad smile.

"Sometimes, awhile before I started working here...I thought that it wasn't worth it. That life had no meaning,"

Temari silently began to compare Daagana to Gaara.

"Giia was not as bad when I was little, there was even a time when she claimed she loved me. But it ended, when one of her many boyfriends, said I was beautiful."

Temari sneered. This Giia was one twisted person.

"I guess Giia was scared that I would take her men, or something gross like that. But either way, that's when it started."

"But you didn't answer my question." Temari said.

"How can you still smile, when you've been going through this for so long?"

Daagana placed a bowl of ramen in front of Temari.

"I have something that I have to live for, that not even Giia can take away."

"What's that?" Temari said as she picked at her ramen.

"Myself."

Temari was confused, and even when she left the bar that day, she still didn't understand.

"Why would Daagana want to live for herself, when all she has to live for it to stay alive?" Temari asked herself as she sliced a rock wall in half.

Kankurou jumped up beside her.

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Temari looked down at him.

"I don't get her."

"Who?" Kankurou asked.

I lied to Temari...I lied to her.

I felt really bad afterwards, but...Giia wouldn't be very happy if she found out the strongest kunoichi in the village was snooping around in her business.

Giia wasn't very strong. If anything, she had the skill level of a Genin. A very weak Genin. But if there's one thing she can do, its get in the way.

A man and a woman sat together at the bar, happily in love. I watched them from the corner of my eye, and quietly envied.

"You're going green." Hiniku appeared over her shoulder. I sighed.

"One of these days, Gana. Somebody'll come for you."

"How do you know?" I asked sadly.

"Because, if anyone deserves to be rescued...it's you." She patted my shoulder.

"Now. Ojiisan wants to know if you want to spend the night, tonight." I smiled at her.

"I doubt Giia will let me."

"Who cares?" Hiniku laughed. "I expect to see you at 6." Hiniku laughed and skipped to the back room.

I smiled, if anyone could defy Giia, it was Hiniku. She had started taking care of me ever since I started working at the ramen bar. Even though she was a full 2 years younger then me, she was taller, and more confident.

She was as protective as a mother would be...or at least what she said a mother should be.

I remember every time I asked about her mother she would sit me down, and tell me wonderful stories of their adventures.

Hiniku lived with her Ojiisan. I called him Ojiisan, but he wasn't my real grandfather. Her mother died on a mission, she was a Jounin, and her father wad a medical-nin who died researching some new herbs.

I loved hearing stories of them, and Hiniku never got tired of telling them. And I didn't doubt that tonight would be any different.

The three Sand Shinobi walked along behind Baki, heading towards the Kazekage's office.

Gaara wasn't to thrilled to see his father...I guess you can't say that because, Gaara was never anything...especially thrilled.

When the four entered, the Kazekage was standing, his back to them.

"Kazekage-sama." Baki bowed.

"What's this all about?" Kankurou asked.

"Were planning to attack," The Kazekage turned to look at his children, and his eyes focused on Gaara. "The Village Hidden in the Leaf."

I slipped down the hall, trying my hardest not to wake Giia.

It was about 9 o'clock already. I smiled to myself. When Hiniku said 6, I always know she means anytime you can get past Giia.

I had a bag slung over my shoulder and I slipped out of the house...shack we lived in. That was when I was home free.

I sprinted down the road laughing, and spinning happily.

Gaara was confused. Between the plans to raid Konoha, and some person laughing like a fool down on the road, he couldn't concentrate.

When the sound grew louder, he growled in frustration and jumped down to the road.

The person that was coming down the road was the girl Temari was spending so much time on. She was twirling and smiling, and about to make Gaara sick to his stomach.

When she saw him she stopped spinning, but she didn't stop smiling.

"Konbanwa ((Good Evening)) Gaara-sama." She said happily started walking again.

Gaara...even more confused let her pass. For a girl who's abused by her mother...she's sure able to cope well.

Gaara didn't seem to mind that I didn't say anything else. So I hurried to Hiniku's house.

When I got there she immediately pulled me down into the bed of pillows she had made and lapsed into a story.

"What's the story about tonight?" I asked.

"Hmm..." She put her finger to her chin and looked at the ceiling. "Oh!" She said happily.

"Did I ever tell you about the time that mama and papa worked together to take down a power-hungry lord?" I laughed, knowing for sure she just made it up.

"No. I haven't heard that one yet."

"It's true Gana. Mama was dispatched by the Kazekage to go and check out this evil man. Her orders were to confirm the information, but not engage." I snuggled deeper into the pillow and readied myself for one good story.

"When she got into the compound, she saw that the evil Lord had 3 hostages and there were 9 ninja in their, ready to kill them. My mama, told her superiors the situation, and they told her to not engage. But what did she do?"

"What?" I asked happily.

"She went in anyway. She went in with her kunai and her shuriken and killed all the ninja, and brought all the hostages home." Hiniku said proudly.

"Hey Hiniku." I laughed.

"What?" she asked.

"You said you're mama and papa took down an evil lord. You're papa wasn't in the story." I laughed. She pouted.

"I'm not finished with the story yet!" She whined.

"Fine, fine. Please continue." I gestured.

"Thank you. Now, papa and mama..."

Gaara sat on the roof and listened to the stories the girl told. He too knew they were fake, but, by the way they were told, it didn't really matter.

The story went on to tell how her mother and father battled the evil lord, and her mother fell. Her father, who was only a medical-nin, was enraged and killed the evil lord, and brought his wife back to life.

Gaara knew of no such thing, the man should have left the bodies behind, and gone home with the glory. He didn't understand why the man stayed and tried so hard to save the woman.

"Pathetic humans." He said under his breath and jumped onto another roof.


	2. Consequences

((Scroll Six))09/10/2007 16:01:00

_** Next Morning **_

I was kind of happy in the morning. I was happy because Ojiisan gave me the early shift and I didn't have to go home to Giia.

Since not many people eat ramen in the morning I was the only one at the store.

About half and hour of doing dishes a boy walked in. He looked my age, with curly red hair.

"Hello." I said. "What would you like?" He looked around like I hadn't even spoken and when he was satisfied he frowned.

"Hiniku isn't here today, is she." I cocked my head and looked at him.

"Why are you looking for Hiniku?" the boy shifted uneasily on his feet.

"I was gonna ask her out..." I couldn't help but smile at the boy's uneasiness.

"She'll be here in the afternoon shift. Come back then." I smiled. He too smiled, and showed his dimples.

He left a happy boy, and left a very lonely girl. So Hiniku was gonna get her love before me. I guess it made since.

Temari watched Daagana's face fall as the boy left. She had heard the whole thing, and finally figured it out.

"She lied." Temari sighed. 'She wears a mask. A very good one too...but she's still so depressed. I doubt she actually has a reason to live. Gaara...even he has a reason, as twisted as it is.'

Temari walked into the ramen shop and sat down quietly. Daagana's back was turned and Temari took the moment to study her movements. They were slow and deliberate. Very precise and routine. Like she had done it a thousand times.

As Daagana turned to see her, Temari saw that she wasn't even surprised to see her there. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"Daagana." Temari asked after a little while.

"Hmm?" She answered.

"Do you know how to fight?"

The question caught me off guard. Why was she asking? I thought about my answer very carefully before I said,

"Yes."

Temari raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why do you ask?" I asked and came around the bar to sit beside her.

"Why don't you defend yourself against Giia?"

I shuddered under the weight of that question. I had asked myself the same one for a very long time.

"...I think...it's because...I don't know how." I answered honestly.

"Then I'll train you." She said eagerly. She jumped up and grabbed my hand. "Come on-"

"No, Temari. It's not like that. I know how...it's just...how do you fight your mother?" I reasoned.

She let go of my hand and sat back down.

"My mom died along time ago." I looked over at her.

"How did she die?" I asked.

"You don't want to know." She said gravely.

"Did you know her well?" I asked.

"Yeah. She was the best, but..." I sat quietly and waited for her to finish, but when she didn't I decided that it wasn't something that should be talked about.

"Do you want some ramen?" I stood quietly.

"Ramen sounds really good right about now."

"Then I'll make you some." I said and walked back round the corner. Just when my back was turned the devil had to walk in.

"Daagana. I'm here for money. I'm going shopping and I'd like all of the money you earned yesterday."

I turned around and just looked at her. Temari was glaring daggers at her.

"I don't have any more money." I said pitifully.

"What?" She shrieked. "How do you expect me to impress the Kazekage? You little whore! Where is the money?" Giia screamed and lunged over the counter.

Temari had seen enough. For one, Giia had mentioned her father. That was enough to get any of the siblings ticked.

Two, she called Daagana a whore again.

Third, Temari had just been itching the beat the woman.

As Giia lunged over the counter, Temari grabbed her fan and swung it down on the bar. There was a loud cracking sound as the giant fan came in contact with Giia's back.

The look on her face was horrid, like she couldn't breath, and in fact, Temari doubted she could. She was even wondering why the woman was still alive.

Even though I was overwhelmed with joy, I had a horrible feeling that pain was going to follow.

"Hurry." I ran past the counter and grabbed Temari's hand. As we passed I flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed'.

I ran through the streets with joy flowing out of me. And soon I started to laugh. Temari was following me, with a smile of relief.

Temari was so thankful that Daagana wasn't about to slit her throat. She was running and laughing like it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

But as Temari was dragged behind, she noticed they were heading in the direction of the poor side. The run-down side of the village where people lived in shacks, or nowhere at all.

"This is your house?" Temari asked as Daagana stopped in front of one of those shacks.

"Yeah. Giia spends all my money on shopping and never leaves any for food or to pay for the house." Temari straightened.

"Hey, what was Giia saying about the Kazekage?" Daagana began to laugh.

"Giia has convinced herself that she's going to marry the Kazekage, and be rich." She laughed.

"She's tried every trick in the book. And to my knowledge nothing has happened yet." But as Daagana laughed, Temari puzzled.

Was Giia that twisted? Yeah...she was.

I led Temari through my house, what little there was of it. And she seemed like the smallness didn't bother her.

"Hey, since Giia will probably try to kill you..." Temari said while we sat in my living room, at a low table. I had gotten some crackers and a drink or two and we were enjoying ourselves.

"Do you wanna stay at my house?"

I blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." She smiled.

"Thank you!" I squealed and hugged her tightly.

"Can't...Breath!" She wheezed. I let go of her.

"Sorry." She waved her hand at me, and held up her cup.

"Here's to beating the crap out of Giia." I raised my class to hers.

"Cheers to that."

_**Later**_

After a while it was Temari's turn to lead me through the village, and she took me to the other side.

The other side of the Village was were all the rich people lived, in their big houses.

"Whoa..." I breathed as she led me to the end of the sandy block, and to the biggest house in the village.

The Kazekage's Mansion.

"You seem surprised." Temari mentioned, when she saw Daagana's jaw hit the floor.

"Big..." Was all she could say.

"Aww...It's okay." Temari said sarcastically, and welcomed Daagana in.

Servants who worked in the house greeted Temari as 'Lady' but didn't pay any attention to Daagana. They rushed by, doing their daily work as usual.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Daagana asked for the millionth time.

"Yes. Now why do you keep asking?" Temari looked back at her.

"Because I don't think Gaara and Kankurou have the same idea as you." She pointed up ahead, where Gaara and Kankurou were standing...waiting.

"We knew you'd do it one of these days." Kankurou said.

"Do what?" Temari spat.

"Invite her."

"What's wrong with inviting her?"

"We have things we have to attend to."

"She's lived here all her life, Kankurou. It's not like she's a spy."

"She's not a ninja."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

I didn't quite understand why Kankurou was so against me staying there, but it didn't really matter.

"Temari, It's fine." I placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can stay with Hiniku, and my Ojiisan."

"Why don't you just go home?" Gaara said hauntingly. I shuddered slightly when he spoke.

"Temari made it so I can't go home." Both boys turned their eyes to Temari.

"Yeah..." She laughed nervously, and rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I might have gone a little over board...with the smashing and all..."

Temari hadn't actually thought of the consequences when she smashed Giia into the bar, but now that they were apparent, there was no overlooking them.

Daagana couldn't go home because of her. And now that Gaara had made his decision, she couldn't stay there either.

"Get her out of here. We're leaving tomorrow morning for the Chuunin exams."

The word 'Chuunin' caught my attention. I knew what a Chuunin was...in fact, if Giia had allowed me to stay in the Ninja Academy I could be going with them...but no. I didn't even get to pass the graduation exam to become a Genin. I was well qualified, to say the least, only problem was...well, Giia.

Temari watched as Daagana's face changed with every thought. Only thing was...Temari didn't know what she was thinking. 'Hmm...Could she be...'

Temari thought quickly, again not thinking of the consequences again, and jumped into conversation.

"Daagana, you said you could fight, right?" Daagana's eyes lit up, but then faded.

"Well...yeah, but-" She said and rubbed her arm.

"Do you know any jutsu?"

"Where are you going with this, Temari?" Kankurou stepped forward.

"Why can't she come with us? To the Chuunin exams, and we could always use the extra manpower. Konoha won't go down easily." Kankurou looked at his sister like she was crazy.

And I looked at her with an even crazier expression.

"No!" I cried. "I can't compete in the Chuunin exams!"

"Exactly right." Someone said. The four people looked over to a set of stairs that was placed at the other side of the room. For a moment my breath caught in my throat.

"Giia..." I whispered.

"Yes." She purred. She stood on the staircase off to the right. I could see clearly that she was having a hard time keeping her balance, but with the extra arm around her waist, she looked just as menacing as always.

Especially when the extra support came from the hands of the Kazekage.

Temari's eyes about exploded out of her head.

Giia! And her father!

This could not be happening. And worse, when she looked over at Daagana, Temari was afraid she was going to kill herself then and there.

"You are not a Genin, therefore, you are not eligible to compete in the Chuunin exams." The Kazekage dictated.

Temari went ridged as a board at his voice. It was different...higher...more threatening. Not the normal hatred filled voice she had grown up with.

I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes closed. This could not be happening. Just an hour ago I had told Temari that nothing was happening between Giia, and the Kazekage! And now...Something was!

_** Next Morning **_

I walked quietly down the road beside Giia.

She was going to see the ninja off, along with every other person in the village. But she was really only going to see the Kazekage, and I was only going because she told me I had too.

I didn't really want to see Temari leave. More over, I couldn't bear to watch her leave. Maybe that was the form of torture Giia wanted to subject me to. Heartbreak.

"Are you ready?" Kankurou sat down beside his sister.

"Did you see her face?" Temari whispered. She sat on the sidewalk, with her knees pulled up to her chest, her head hidden in her crossed arms.

"Who's?" Kankurou asked.

"Who do you think, you idiot!" Temari barked, and lifted her head up.

"Are you...crying?" He squinted at her.

"No..." She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. Kankurou sighed and knew that it was time enough to play the caring brother role that he hated so much.

"Yes, I saw her face. And even I can't believe what Giia is doing."

"You don't know the half of it." Temari disagreed.

"Then tell me. I want to hate her too." He urged. Temari chuckled at his attempted joke, but it died away in her chest.

"We don't have time." She moped.

"Hey," Kankurou poked her in the side. "We're the one's risking our necks to go undercover here. I think they can stand a couple more minutes of waiting."

We waited for a little while at the front gate...waiting for the Sand-nin to come and bid their good-byes.

Personally I didn't want to think about it...but the thought wouldn't leave me alone. 'What was I going to do now?' I scrunched up my face at the thought, but immediately let it relax.

My face, at the moment, wasn't in the best condition, due to Giia's tantrum this morning. She couldn't find her left shoe, so she gave me a black eye. Funny how a mother's love works. Or lack of therefore.

Suddenly the whole crowd erupted into applause, and I jerked my head up. Coming down the path the crowd had made for them, was Temari...but. She didn't look very happy. Kankurou walked beside her, equally sullen. I craned my neck to see her face, but from where I was standing, it was blurry, especially with my swollen eye.

"Do you think she came?" Temari whispered over to Kankurou.

"If she's still alive, yeah." He responded. Temari gave him a look and he quickly took back his statement.

Gaara walked silently in front of them...secretly scanning the crowd. He too was searching for her.

But not because he was worried about her wellbeing, or because he wanted to wish her goodbye, but because he knew where she was, Giia was.

And he planned to kill her.

"Look." Kankurou raised his head to the crowd, and Temari's eyes followed. There, in the crowd stood a very somber Daagana.

Temari almost stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her black eye. Kankurou too, couldn't help but grimace.

They both knew who had given it to her, and they both were now filled with equal hatred.

"I'm going to kill that woman." Kankurou said.

"Not if I get to her first." Temari challenged, but neither of them left the path the crowd had made. They knew their priorities.

Destroy Konoha first, and then destroy Giia. They would get around to her eventually.

I saw Temari look at me, and I knew for certain she had seen my eye...but she kept walking.

'Ohh...' What had I expected? Her to come bounding out of the crowd and comfort me?

No...No one cares about the girl who gets abused by her mother.

I quietly shrank back into the crowd, and for the first time...my heart hardened.

No one was gonna care for me...so I wasn't gonna care about them. Temari can go...and I'll get along just fine without her.

But...the whole hard heart thing didn't last very long...and I was suddenly missing her again.

It was true, no one bothered with the abused girl, but that didn't mean I could stop feeling. I had been dealing with those people long before I had met Hiniku or Temari. Long before I met...my friends.

So then and there I made up my mind. I had told Temari that I didn't know how to fight back, and Hiniku promised me that I was gonna be rescued. No! I knew very well how to fight, and I was not going to be the little girl who couldn't stand up for herself! I was going to become stronger! I was to make sure Giia knew that I would not go quietly!

Never...

The trip to Konoha was long and tiring, but when they arrived, Temari wasn't disappointed. The scenery was breath taking. All the trees and vegetation, things the desert couldn't supply. It was beautiful.

But was really made Temari think ill of Konoha were the towns folk. They weren't even there an hour, and some idiot with yellow hair comes and starts screaming at them. Then some hott guy appeared in the tree, and some stupid girl with pink hair goes off and tells them they have no right to be here. Seriously.

Konoha people aren't very nice. Most likely why they were there to destroy them.

_** Three Days Later in The Hidden Sand **_

Hiniku slipped quietly out of Daagana's house. It was barely 3 a.m. and Daagana had been gone for almost 3 days. Hiniku slung the bag of clothes over her shoulder. Sure, she knew were Daagana was, but she knew not to go and bother her. She had seen the determination in her eyes.

_**((Flash Back))**_

"Where are you going, Gana?" Hiniku asked her as she walked out the back door of the ramen shop. "Your shift just started."

"I'm going to train." She said, and stood up straight. Hiniku giggled a little.

"Nice one." But Daagana's face didn't change. It remained sullen and serious. Hiniku's smile faded, and she looked at the ground.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No..." She answered. "Just...you know the routine."

_**((End Flash Back))**_


	3. Curses, Imposters, and Reunions

((Scroll Eight))15/10/2007 18:34:00

Hiniku walked to the edge of the Village, were a small outcropping of rock lay. She placed the bag at the very back of the little wall, and buried it half way in sand.

"Be safe Gana." She whispered, and started to head back.

Along the way, she quietly kicked a piece of rock that lay on the road. Every time she kicked it, her foot pounded.

Finally after a rather hard kick she winced and looked down at her now bleeding toe. It wasn't that bad, and she sure wouldn't die from it.

But still she bent down, and placed her hand over her toe. Her hand began to glow green, and in a couple of seconds her toe was completely fine.

Her toe was fine, yet she stayed on the ground. Not really bothering to get up. But she wasn't doing nothing while sitting there. She was lost in thought, so lost, it didn't matter if she was on the ground or on the softest pillow in the world...she wouldn't have noticed either way.

Hiniku never actually wanted to be a medical-nin. If anything she wanted to be the best fighter there was. She wanted to be the hero and fight the good fight! Right along side...Daagana.

If only Daagana would fight. Hiniku knew she wouldn't, she had already begged her. But Daagana was afraid...afraid that she would lose control, and hurt someone. Afraid that the power she possessed would corrupt her, and turn her against her friends. And even afraid that she would hurt herself.

Hiniku knew all of Daagana's fears were very reasonable, because the power Daagana possessed what not what you could call normal. You probably couldn't even call it good. Hiniku recalled the time Daagana actually told her about it. It was hard for her to say, and even harder for Hiniku to hear.

When Daagana was young her mother used to have a boyfriend for every day of the week. Daagana didn't really understand it, she was probably not even five, but that never stopped Giia from showing her off to all her boyfriends.

But when that faithful day came, that one of the men said that Daagana was beautiful, Giia decided that her little trophy wasn't worth anything anymore. She brought little Daagana into her room and shut the door.

The events that took place in that room are unknown to even Daagana, because she can't remember. The only clue she had was a small mark on her upper arm.

The next day when Daagana woke up and went to see her mother, Giia fell into a pit of hysteria. Obviously Daagana waking up wasn't apart of her plan.

When Daagana was 7, strange things began to happen. By then, Giia had already mastered the art of abuse, and made a habit of beating Daagana everything some weird happened. Sad to say, that was most of the time.

When Daagana turned 9, she started studying up on the mark on her arm. Turns out it was a curse mark, from something called the "Jun Chi Noroi'. ((Obedient Blood Curse)) The curses side effects were simple: Death.

But as Daagana read further she found that if the curse wasn't performed right, the one that should have died, would be cursed with the power of looming darkness...

For the first year that Daagana worked at the ramen shop, Hiniku immediately started to think of her as her sister. Then, one day she came to the shop and told Hiniku that she was going somewhere.

When Hiniku asked if she could come, Daagana authoritatively said 'No'. But even then Hiniku was stubborn and she followed Daagana out into the open desert.

Where she watched Daagana emit black...there was really no way to describe it. It was sheer darkness...shadows, and Daagana was there master.

Hiniku was frightened, and ran all the way back to the ramen shop. Daagana didn't come back for two days, and Hiniku began to worry. So, she packed a bag of food, water, and clothes and left it in the outcropping. The next day she went to check on it and found it gone.

Daagana came back after a few days, and the first thing she did was hug the mess out of Hiniku. Since then Hiniku had been doing the same thing, every day. Sometimes, she would go and watch Daagana train, even though she didn't know she was there, Hiniku knew she could feel the support.

"What are you looking at?" Temari snapped at Kankurou. It was day 11 in the plan to destroy Konoha and Temari was about to snap Kankurou's neck.

Right in two!

After the prelims, the three moved to a secret Sand base at the borders of the Wind and Fire country.

Training was mandatory, pain was also mandatory.

"Am I not allowed to look around?" Kankurou said snobbishly.

"That's it!" Temari stood, and knocked the chair out from under her.

"You and me. Right here, right now." Kankurou also stood, and met her challenged.

"Anywhere, anytime." Temari shook her head slightly.

"You idiot. I just said the place and time."

"Oh..." Kankurou said and looked around a bit. "I knew that." He cleared his throat.

"Stop bickering you two. You have to bee here another 3 weeks. Try not to kill each other until then." Baki silenced them.

Temari snorted and started to walk away, but momentarily turned back.

"When he dies in combat," She hissed at Baki. "Don't think any enemy killed him." And she was gone.

"Sheesh." Kankurou sat back down. "What's her problem?"

"You." Baki answered and walked away.

"Why is everyone walking away from me?" Kankurou asked innocently.

Hiniku walked around the back of Daagana's house, ready to get her some new clothes.

She was just a hair shy of opening the door, when she heard voices.

"My dear Giia," Hiniku cracked the door the tiniest bit. She saw the back of a white dress, and Giia on the other side of the room.

"Won't you accompany me to Konoha. Their destruction could use your...unique abilities." Hiniku sneered, and almost threw up.

Who in the world was feeding Giia these pathetic, and untrue compliments?

"Kazekage-sama. I would be honored, but. You know it will take quite a long time to journey to Konoha, and I would be lonely. Perhaps you and I can share a-"

"Yes, of course." He answered, and advanced towards her. Hiniku's eyes got very wide as the sight of the Kazekage's head came into view.

He had pitch-black hair, and went down to his middle back. She stumbled back slightly and tripped over a pot. It fell over and smashed into oblivion.

"What was that?" Giia sounded from inside. The door flew open and the man in the Kazekage's dress glared at her.

His skin was not pale, but gray, and his eyes reminded Hiniku of a snake. His face twisted into a demented smile as he put down his guard.

"Giia, is this your daughter?" His voice...it sent shivers down Hiniku's spine. Giia appeared beside him, wearing next to nothing.

"No." She sneered. "It's that filthy ramen rat." Hiniku knew she has been caught red-handed, but that didn't mean she had to be caught for the right reason.

"Yes," She put on a fake smile. "I'm very sorry for the pot." She said and gestured towards the pieces.

"I just came to see if you would be interested in the new special that we have down at the Ramen Shop. Special Miso Ramen. A once in a life time offer." Hiniku lied. She may be just a medical ninja, but that didn't mean she wasn't as quick on her feet as a field ninja.

"No, you filthy urchin, now get off my property." Giia waved her hand at her. Hiniku did so quickly, and she broke out into a run at the street.

In every medical textbook she had ever read, there was always a picture of the Kazekage...that man...was not the Kazekage!

Hiniku didn't know what to do...was she supposed to report it? But who would believe her?

A beggar like her going against the Kazekage. And for all she knew, he could have been using a jutsu. Who knew what kind of twisted things Giia liked.

Hiniku didn't tell anyone...and the next day Giia and the fake Kazekage left for Konoha. Of course the fact that Giia was leaving was enough to boost anyone's spirits.

Right after they left, Hiniku went to tell Daagana. She packed a bag, to make up for yesterday's miss and wrote her a short, but sweet message: 'Giia's Gone.'

_** Next Day **_

"Hiniku!" I called as I ran down the road towards her house. She popped her head out her window, and smiled at me.

"You got my message?"

"Why else do you think I'm here?" I laughed. "Where did she go?"

Hiniku's smile sort of turned into an apologetic grimace.

"What?" I said quickly.

"Hurry and come inside." She said. I advanced towards the door, and she met me there. She pulled me into the living room and down onto a pile of cushions.

"Hiniku, this is no time for a story."

"Yes. This is the perfect time," She said, completely serious. "But it's not about my mother, it's about yours."

I cocked my head at her. "What are you talking about?" I asked nervously.

"When I was going to get your clothes yesterday, Giia was at your house."

"Yeah...so?"

"She wasn't alone. The Kazekage was with here."

"I know she's with the Kazekage. I have no idea how but, it's not life threatening."

"Listen to me. I know what the Kazekage looks like, Gana. From all the books I've read. And the man who was with your mom...wasn't the Kazekage." There was a long pause before either of us spoke.

"Are you saying someone is impersonating the Kazekage?" I whispered.

"Yes. The man was...he scared me. Just by looking at him...I felt...weak."

I was startled to hear her say such a thing. Hiniku was stubborn and most of all proud. Her saying she felt weak, was like saying Gaara wanted to skip around and sing the love song. It didn't happen.

"Hiniku...didn't you do anything? Report it?"

"I was to scared. I didn't think they'd believe me."

I didn't know what to say after that. I was a true Hidden Sand villager...but I didn't truly hold my allegiance to the Kazekage. I didn't know him well enough to trust him...all I knew were the rumors, of how he tried to kill his own son.

But with someone impersonating the Kazekage...that person could do a lot of damage...and I didn't even know if his intentions were good or not. A better question was how long had he been in office? How long had the real Kazekage been gone?

My head began to spin with questions, and none of them I could voice. Hiniku was already in a state of depression.

"I need to go back out and-"

"No! Please Gana. You were out there for almost 2 weeks! I can't stand it anymore." She said and grabbed my hand.

Then an unlikely thought popped into my head.

"Did that boy ever come back?" She looked at my like I was crazy.

"What boy?"

"They boy who wanted to ask you out. Did he ever?" I saw her head jerk up.

"A boy...wanted to asked, me?" She asked, as if it's never happened before. Which, is because it hadn't.

"Yeah." I flashed a fake smile. "He was tall, and had curly red hair. He also had freckles-"

"Oh..."Her eyes got really big.

"Kanman..."

"Huh?" I asked.

"His name is Aoi Kanman." I giggled slightly.

"I wouldn't want his name. ((Sluggish Blue))"

"He's a really strong ninja. He was almost chosen to go to the chuunin exams." She said, getting happier with every word. "And he wanted to ask Me out!"

She jumped up and started to hop around.

"Me!" She screamed.

While she was occupied with herself, I took the chance to slip away. These questions needed to be answered.

_** Next Day **_

"Day 13..." Temari wheezed. "And I can barely stand."

She held her hands on her knees, just to keep her standing.

Kankurou was face down on the ground, panting like a dog.

"I don't wanna..." He whined.

"Hurry up! Do it again!" Baki ordered.

"We can't!" Temari shouted. She straightened and threw down her fan. It caused a huge dust cloud.

"I'm sick and I'm tired. I'm done with this!" She screamed, her voice cracking in the middle.

Kankurou staggered a little, but got to his feet, and stood beside his sister.

"Gaara is the sand's trump card. Train him."

Baki faced his students with the face of a devil. Well...half the face of a devil. His students had been getting harder and harder to bear ever since...always.

Unbeknownst to his siblings, Gaara had gone off on his own to stalk the Uchiha kid. Baki didn't know, nor care what Sasuke mattered. But Gaara wasn't there to train, and personally he didn't want to train Gaara.

_** Two Weeks Later in the Hidden Sand **_

Hiniku convinced me to come back.

Yesterday she left me nothing but a note that said 'come home' and didn't bother to leave any food.

Stubborn little girl.

Though it would seem, while I was gone she went and talked with Kanman. Wherever she was these days, he was right behind her...a bit to close behind for my taste.

Today was no different. She was teaching him how to kneed dough into noodles, while I sat...and sulked.

I came back just to be with her, and now I was a third wheel.

I sighed. I could always use more training.

"Maybe your permanent color is green." Ojiisan came and sat down beside me.

"Don't take it to heart, my hana sabaku. ((Desert Flower)) She don't know what she doin'." He said and put his arm around me.

"She always said that love would come and rescue me." I said sadly. "I guess it forgot me."

"Now you stop right there." He said sternly. "There ain't no way love could pass up such an opportunity. It's just waitn'. It may be, it may be him. We got know way of knowin'. But it'll come, I can guarantee that." He said and squeezed my shoulder.

"Daagana! Will you come help him? He's a loser and can't even roll noodles." Hiniku leaned over the counter. My ojiisan's words echoed from my mind all the way down to me heart.

"Yeah. Yeah I will." I smiled, and got up to help.

_** Nine Days Later **_

I rested my head on my arms. My neck was stiff from standing all day, and making noodles. I sat at my window side.

It wasn't really my window, but I had my own room in Hiniku's house. When I bought something that I knew for a fact Giia would take away, I kept it here.

The shelves were stacked with books, and pictures.

With the money Giia didn't take away, I bought things that I wanted. Not things I needed. I had made a habit of it.

A lot of them were medical books Hiniku asked me to get for her. I knew she didn't want to be a medical ninja, I could see it in her eyes, but she was so eager to help me, that I couldn't tell her 'no'.

I glanced back up at the moon. It was a half moon tonight. Not as pretty as a full or crescent, but it was still the moon.

"What are you looking at?" I accused. The wind blew across my window and whistled the moon's response.

"Do you think love is gonna come for me?" the wind whipped by a little stronger. I laughed as goose bumps rose up on my arm.

"But when?" I asked. The wind died down to a soft breeze.

"You don't know, do you?" I said sadly. The wind grew back, and even the faintest breeze couldn't be felt.

"But who? Who would love me?" I asked.

Suddenly...the wind blew so strong that sand blew into my room. It stung at my eyes, and got into my nose and mouth. I coughed and sputtered.

"What was that supposed to mean?" I cried, as I slammed my window door shut.

Hiniku stood outside Daagana's door, listening to her conversation with the wind and the moon. It puzzled her to no end. She thought for a moment that Daagana had gone mad. Talking to the wind, about whom she is to love? Surely she was crazy.

_** Next Day **_

I quietly walked down the streets of my village. Secretly my ears were wide open, and hearing every piece of new there was to hear. I knew for a fact that today was the start of the Third Exam in the chuunin exams, and I was eager to hear any news.

_** Late Afternoon **_

...No one in this stupid village knows ANYTHING!

_** Dusk **_

I am sick and tired of sitting here and waiting.

That night I had a screaming match with the wind...and it won. It whirled about to so strong that I lost my balance and fell onto my bed. I jumped right back up, but its presence was gone, signaling that it had claimed the victory. I fell back on my bed and stared at the ceiling...it was made of wood panels, and each was a different color. Before I fell asleep that night I memorized each color.

Temari stood beside her two brothers. All in shock. Though Gaara didn't show it, and Kankurou didn't sound it, but Temari shared in their pain. He may not have been any kind of good, and he was even worse as a father...but he as still their father. Baki stood beside them...sharing the same thoughts as them.

All the sand ninja that had survived the raid had retreated back to the base at the border. Waiting for them there was an ambush of sound ninja! Temari, her brothers and Baki had retreated from the battle, and as they ran they happened upon the body of the real Kazekage. Decaying in a small hole in the ground.

Baki was disgusted that they had been fooled for so long, fooled enough to go against their allies. It tore his pride in two to think about it. He doubted that the alliance with the Hidden Leaf would ever be forged again.

"We should go." Baki voiced. Temari looked over at him with a face of stone.

"What about the body?"

"Leave it." Baki answered.

_** Next Day **_

I was anxiously kneading at the dough. Though my hands were working, my mind was far away; so far I accidentally rubbed a noodle right in half. I sighed heavily and started on another one.

"Stop right der' missy." My ojiisan came and placed his hands on mine.

"You cain't role dem' noodles without chour' mind in it. You ain't all here, so we gonna sit and wait till you're all here." He pulled my over to the other side of the counter, and we sat...just sat.

He would look at me sometimes, while I thought of Temari. And when a lonely costumer would come in, my ojiisan would serve them, and then come and sit back down beside me.

Personally, I think he was the best Ojiisan ever. Everyone's ojiisan should have been like mine. Always ready to talk, and when you weren't ready, he was ready to wait.

Suddenly someone began to shout. God knows what they were saying, but as people joined in, I heard two things clearly.

"They're back!"

I sprinted out of the ramen shop and joined the crowd of people heading towards the Village entrance. As we neared the gate I could see four silhouettes coming along the horizon.

I broke away from the crowd and ran towards them at full ninja speed.

Gaara walked slowly...his mind was so burnt out, it barley processed the fact that someone was running towards them. It was only when Temari shouted "Daagana", did he look up and at the girl rushing to them.

Firstly she flung her arms around Temari, and squeezed.

"You're finally back!" She cried happily. Then she broke away and came...for him. She grabbed his middle and hugged with all her might.

"You're alright!" No one...No one had ever said that to him before.

No one had ever cared to see if he was all right or not. He felt like he couldn't breath, as if something was gripping his heart. He came to the conclusion that the yellow-haired clown was right. Fighting for yourself could only get you so far, but when you had something to fight for...it installed a drive in you that nothing could replace.

Gaara's desire to live now meant nothing to him. His new desire was that his family would live. And she would live.

I don't know why...but I didn't want to let go of Gaara. I felt like if I let go...something might be lost. So I stayed there. He didn't hug me back, and I didn't mind. I didn't think that Kankurou would mind waiting for his hug.

_** Later **_

"I'm so glad you're all safe." I said again as I walked with them through the village.

"You have to tell me all about it." I demanded.

"Every detail." Temari smirked, and Kankurou laughed.

"It wasn't that interesting. It was boring as...well, as Temari." Kankurou joked. Temari swiftly punched him on the head.

"Since when am I boring?" She cried.

"Calm down." I laughed. "It's not like-"

"Gana!" I turned around at my name as Hiniku came running up. When she reached up she put her hands on her legs and panted.

"I've been running...all over the village...looking for you." She panted.

"What is it?" I asked. She paused and stood up straight.

"Giia's back, and she's looking for you."


	4. Fire and Health Issues

((Scroll Ten))16/10/2007 15:09:00

I didn't know exactly what I should do...Giia probably wasn't the happiest camper, now that everyone knew that the Kazekage was dead. Personally, I think a punching bag had more of a choice then I did when it came to being punched. I looked at everyone, then down the road. What choice did I have?

Temari saw early on that Daagana was weighting her options. But when She looked down the road, Temari had to stop her.

"Oh, No. You are not going to see her." Temari ordered.

"But-"

"No." Temari dismissed all choices. "You and Hiniku are going to stay with us."

Hiniku's eyes went as big as dinner plates.

"Really?" She said dreamily. I, though, still wasn't sure. If I didn't take the beating now, it would be worse tomorrow.

"I'm not giving you a choice Daagana." Temari grabbed her hand. "You're coming whether you want to or not."

"And I don't see why you wouldn't want to." Hiniku said, her eyes still huge and sparkly. I knew for a fact that I couldn't escape Temari's iron grip, and Hiniku probably just saw her life flash before her eyes. So...I guess the only other option was...

"Fine." I breathed.

"Good girl." Temari patted my head playfully.

"Hiniku! Gana! Get back here! We have customers!" Hiniku and I both looked down the road at Ojiisan.

"Gotta go!" Hiniku said, grabbed my arm, and started to drag me away.

_** That Night **_

Temari paced her living room floor, and had been for the past hour. 'Where was Daagana?' Hiniku sat awkwardly on the soft couch. She could barley sit still.

"What do you think is keeping her?" Hiniku asked.

"What else?" Kankurou said, indicating that her question was a stupid one.

"Giia." Temari nodded. "You told her to be here at 6, right?" She asked, and checked the clock on the wall.

"Well..." Hiniku stared down at her hands.

"Well what?" Kankurou said menacingly.

"When Gana spends the night at my house, we say meet at 6. But what we really mean, is whenever she can get away from Giia. We really don't specify a time."

Hiniku huddled down in the soft couch, as Temari's head started to spin.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS BEFORE!?" She screamed.

"Fire." The three of them stopped what they were doing and looked up to the balcony in the house, where Gaara stood.

"What?" Temari asked.

"Fire. Something's on fire...in the village." He said.

"She didn't!" Hiniku exclaimed.

"I bet you she did!" Kankurou said, and all FOUR of them sprinted out of the mansion...towards the poor side of the village.

Halfway there, they found a water line. Villagers were passing buckets of water down the line to try and put out the fire.

"Why aren't they using a jutsu?" Hiniku cried.

"Because it's in the poor side. There's no water anywhere close." Kankurou informed her. The four ninja sprinted towards the front, and when they got there...There stood Giia.

She was standing with beside Baki, crying her eyes out.

"Eye drops." Temari hissed.

"No." Hiniku said, and the three looked at her. "She's really crying, but not because she's sad..." Hiniku hissed. "It's because she's laughing."

"You three! Get up here!" Baki shouted at them. The three sand-nin started forward and Hiniku followed.

"The woman claims her daughter is still inside." There it went. Hiniku blew smoke out of her ears and charged full speed at Giia. Right as she was about to reach her, she was suddenly caught up in a bubble of sand. It weighted down her arms and legs.

"Let me go! I'm going to kill her!" Hiniku hissed back at Gaara.

"Do it elsewhere. There are too many witnesses." He said and pulled her back to stand by them.

_** Half an Hour Later **_

Finally...after all this time, the fire was put out. But all that was left of the house...were ashes. The villagers that didn't have to mourn left those who did. The fire had spread all the way down the street, and almost 6 houses were ruined.

Hiniku ran through the ruins digging in the blackness...searching.

"Please. Hiniku." Temari said quietly. "She's gone." Hiniku stood and threw a burnt book at Temari. It fell short and landed at her feet.

"You don't know anything about her! She's not dead!" She declared and went back to digging. Kankurou looked over at Temari with a sad face.

"Do you think we should-"

"I found her!" Hiniku cried. Temari's head perked up, and Kankurou held his tongue. None of them could see her; she stood behind a half fallen wall.

"Gaara! I need your help!" They heard. Both siblings looked over at Gaara.

"Please..." Temari said quietly. He nodded and started forwards through the ashes.

"There you are." Hiniku said when he made it to her. He looked around on the ground, but didn't see anything the resembled a body.

"Where is her body?" He asked hauntingly.

"I told you. She's not dead." Hiniku said and walked over to the corner of the wall.

"Look." She pointed. Gaara walked forward but didn't see anything...but black.

Unusual Black. Chakra Black.

"What is that?" He asked.

"It's Gana's power." Hiniku said quietly. "Can you put up a sand wall?" Gaara glared down at her, but soon the sand was flowing and a wall was encircling them.

When they couldn't be seen, Hiniku went to work on the beam and bookcase that had wedged it's self on top of Gana's hiding place.

When she got the beam off, Gaara could clearly see the outline of a body.

"She's really alive." He breathed.

"She wouldn't die this easily. After all that training, I'm surprised that she didn't just put out the fire." Gaara looked over at Hiniku, who had almost gotten the bookcase off.

"Training?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said back to him. "While you guys were off on the raid, she was gone for almost a month." Hiniku pushed the case aside, and the black...bubble was visible.

"Gana." Hiniku said, and almost perfectly the bubble evaporated and Daagana's body fell to the ground.

"Heh." Hiniku smirked. "She's unconscious. I guess you didn't figure out how to ventilate your little bubble, now did you Gana?" Hiniku said as she took her limp hand and pulled her forward. But before she could load Daagana onto her back, light sand lifted her body up and placed her in Gaara's arms.

"I am stronger." He said. Hiniku smirked slightly as the wall of sand fell. A hot wind blew past them, and the aftermath of the fires was evident before them.

"Daagana!" Temari cheered, and ran to them.

Hiniku paid close attention to Giia's reaction when she saw her daughter was all right. Giia had stuck around to see what she was going to do when she went rummaging through the soot. Hiniku knew that Giia was unaware of Daagana's powers...even though she gave them to her.

"We found her under a bookcase." Hiniku called to her. "She's perfectly fine. Not one scratch." Hiniku noted that Giia's face turned bright red.

Now Baki was no stupid man, and he saw clearly Giia's reaction to Hiniku's statement. He gestured for a couple of ninja to follow him, and he confronted Giia.

"We'd like you to come with us."

"Why?" Giia cracked.

"Just to investigate the possible starting of the fire." Two ninja went to stand on either side of Giia, and proceeded to lead her away.

"If that's how the days going to end..." Hiniku said. "Then I want it to end like that everyday."

Temari nodded in agreement and she, Hiniku, Kankurou and Gaara, who was still carrying Daagana, walked away from the poor side.

_** Later and After **_

Upon entering the Kazekage mansion, Gaara carried Daagana upstairs and into a bedroom.

"Yashamaru's old room." Temari said sadly.

"Who's Yashamaru?" Hiniku asked.

Gaara placed her on the unused mattress. She stirred slightly. It as like she was sleeping, not unconscious. Now that he had put her down...what was he gonna do?

He made himself a chair of sand and settled down to wait until she woke up.

"Oh..." Hiniku said quietly.

"Yeah." Kankurou nodded. For the past little while Temari and Kankurou had been telling Hiniku about Yashamaru and his attempted assassination on Gaara.

"But...he loved him." Hiniku said quietly.

"He pretended he did. Worse yet, Gaara was blamed for his death even though Yashamaru clearly committed suicide."

"Why do they hate him so much? It wasn't his choice to have Shukaku."

"You're right. It wasn't. It was our fathers, and now he's dead." Temari looked off to the side, possibly trying to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing.

"They're so much a like..." Hiniku said quietly.

"Who?" Kankurou asked.

"Gana and Gaara."

I stirred slightly...my head hurt, and it hurt to breath. I guess that's what happened when you inhale that much smoke. I should really learn how to filter air in and out of my bubble...or at least I should have. I pretty much think I'm dead.

But...if I'm dead...why can I move my fingers? I wiggled my fingers and toes, and found all 20 were still attached and I was, in fact, not dead.

Gaara cocked an eyebrow as she began to wiggle her fingers and toes. 'What in the world is she doing?' He stood and leaned over her, and suddenly her eyes snapped open...

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes, was a pair staring right back at me. And I don't know why...it just...overwhelmed me. Someone came and rescued me, and they even stayed by my side to see if was all right. I couldn't help but show the emotion that was flooding through my body.

Tears...they were streaming down her face. What had he done? He staggered back slightly. What had he done to make her cry?

I saw him stumble back slightly, and I thought maybe he had gotten the wrong idea. I painfully got up and threw my arms around him. Half falling, half hugging. I buried my face in his chest, and sobbed.

"Thank you..." My words sounded muffled, when I voiced them in his shirt.

"You saved my life." I didn't know if he could even hear me...

Oh, he could hear her. He could hear everything: Her breathing, her heartbeat, her words...But he couldn't move. I moment was too precious to spend it on moving. He had to savor it...thinking it would be his last. His arms, though, did not agree with his mind.

Instead they listened to his fast-beating heart and wrapped themselves around her like a blanket, intending to protect her forever.

"Never leave..." Gaara half whispered, half begged. Daagana nodded feverishly into his chest.

"I won't..."

"They've been up there for quiet awhile." Temari said, and looked up at the door.

"Do you think we should check on them?" Hiniku inquired.

"It wouldn't hurt..." Kankurou said, and passed sly look to both of them. They both returned it and they snuck upstairs. They got there just in time to hear Daagana say 'I won't...' Kankurou gave a questioning look at Temari and she shrugged.

Hiniku shook her head at both of them, and pushed the door open. The two siblings hit the ground in an instant and covered their heads, waiting to be pummeled with sand. Hiniku sighed down at both of them.

"He doesn't care...He's to preoccupied at the moment." She said and gestured towards the hugging couple.

"Well that's a sight for sore eyes." Temari sat up happily. "Gaara got a girlfriend before you did." She teased at Kankurou.

"Hey!" He whined.

"It's the kabuki make-up." Hiniku said, and Temari nodded.

Gaara truly didn't mind seeing. They would have found out any other way. What made him even happier was that Daagana didn't mind them seeing. Which meant that she didn't care whether or not people saw them together...she didn't care about them. She cared about him. And that was enough to make even him smile.

_**!Nighttime!**_

That night I spent the night at the mansion...everyone slept in their own rooms, and Hiniku got to sleep in a spare room. I slept in a room Temari told me belonged to a man named Yashamaru. I didn't know much about him but enough to know that he betrayed Gaara.

At 10 o'clock the next morning Temari came and shook me awake.

"I don't think you can ever be a ninja if you sleep this long." I stared blankly up at her, still half asleep.

"Come on..." She said and pulled me out of bed. "The Elders are here to talk to Gaara about his succession issues." My ears twitched slightly.

"His...what?" I asked.

"Yeah...Gaara is gonna inherit the role of Kazekage, because of our father." She said as she pulled out some decent clothes for me to wear.

"He's really determined to get people to notice him for who he is, not what the Shukaku can do. And I think it's all because-" She turned around. Daagana was gone, and the door was wide open.

"Okay then." She mumbled.

I ran quickly round the corner, and headed for the ramen shop.

"Hiniku!" I cried desperately. She came rushing from the back when I came rushing in the shop. We could have collided if it hadn't been for the bar.

"What?" She asked.

"Gaara is going to become that Kazekage!" I cried. She puzzled for a moment then, BOOM. Her face lit up light a firework.

"No, no, no, no! No! Cause you! And him! No!" She cried and pounded her fists on the Bar. "This can't happen."

"Why not?" Temari came walking up. She didn't sound to happy. I guess she misunderstood.

"You don't understand." I said pitifully. "I'm happy for Gaara that he can be the Kazekage...but-"

"But Giia is a pervert!" Hiniku finished for me. Temari look at me with a stupid look.

"Yeah...I know Giia is retarded, but what does that have to do with Gaara being the Kazekage?"

"Everything!" Hiniku cried. "Giia is obsessed with being with the Kazekage! Which means-"

"Which means she doesn't really who it is." I finished.

"Or how old they are for that matter." Hiniku mumbled.

I guess Temari must have gotten the message because she started to make weird faces. First she looked like she was about to throw up...then it went to looking like she was about to bite my face off.

"Um..." I said as I hid behind Hiniku. "While you stay here with her...I'm gonna go train." I said and started to run.

"Wait! Gana!" Hiniku called after me...but I didn't intent to listen.

"Now look what you did!" Hiniku scolded at Temari, who was still...fuming I guess. "I can barely keep her here anymore!"

"I'm going to tell Gaara." Temari said, ignoring the fact that Daagana was now gone.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Hiniku followed as Temari stormed off.

"Oh yeah." She hissed. "For once in his life Gaara finds a girl who likes him. Then her perverted MOM has to go and try to steal him away!" She screamed.

"What _**is**_ the world coming to?" Hiniku agreed sarcastically.

Temari threw open the doors to the mansion and screamed for Kankurou.

"You better get down here and hear this." She ordered. A few minutes later he came slumping down the stairs like he just crawled out of bed.

"Whoa..." Temari said and backed up a few steps as he collapsed in front of them.

"What?" He breathed.

"Um...Maybe we should take him to the hospital." Hiniku said and scrunched up her nose.

"Kankurou, what's wrong with you?" Temari chided.

"Stomach...pain." He said in between grunts. Hiniku sighed and put her head on her forehead.

"Roll over you big baby." She insulted. He did with great difficulty, and she bent down beside him.

"Now little boy," She said, like she was talking to a three year old. "Where does it hurt?"

"Shut up." He spat. He put his hand on the right part of his side, and groaned. Hiniku placed her hand there and concentrated. Her hand began to glow green, and after a moment she gasped.

"What?" Temari asked.

"His appendix has ruptured." Temari cocked an eyebrow.

"So..." Temari asked. What was the big deal?

"So," Hiniku and her hands started to glow green again. "If the infection that caused the rupture gets into his blood stream...he'll die."

"Oh..." Temari said and stood up. "What do we do?"

"You go and get some medical-nin. I'm not certified to heal a wound of this extent. I can keep him alive for the moment, but not for very long." Temari nodded, and ran out.

"The counsel has decided..." An elder stood at the end of a long table. Both sides were occupied by a line of other men, and at the end...Gaara. "That we will accept Sabaku no Gaara to be the next Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand." All the men nodded in agreement, and Gaara stood.

"Thank you." He said and bowed to the men. Inside he truly felt honored. On the outside we was as emotionless as always. The counsel augured and he quickly left to tell his siblings and...Daagana.

What he found was far from happy. He entered his home to find Kankurou laying on the ground and Hiniku performing some sort of a jutsu on him. Gaara realized it was a medial jutsu when he saw her hands glowing. And a lass, Temari and Daagana were nowhere to be found.

"Temari's gone to find some medical-nin and Gana's gone to train." Hiniku said over her shoulder. "I swear I can't keep her home anymore." She muttered and turned her attention back to Kankurou.

"To train?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah. I told you about it, remember?" She asked.

Gaara recalled her telling him of Daagana's power and her extensive training yesterday, when she was digging her out of the wreckage.

"Why did she leave?"

"Because she likes you." Temari's voice rang. Four medical ninja ran past Gaara to where Kankurou and Hiniku were.

Temari walked over to her brother...clearly knowing that she had to tell him the truth.

"It's Giia." She began. Gaara's eyebrows furrowed. He already didn't like the sound of this. "She's after you."

Gaara's expression didn't change...but on the inside he was literally about to puke.

"She wants to be with the Kazekage so bad that she doesn't care who it is." Hiniku said as she walked up to them.

"Or how old they are." Temari added. Hiniku shot an aggravated glance Temari's way, and muttered something under her breath about stealing her lines.

The medical-nin walked past as they carried Kankurou away on a stretcher. Gaara followed him with his eyes, and before he could ask Hiniku said,

"His appendix ruptured. It's easy to take care of. He'll be back to normal in a few days."

Temari's jaw dropped to the floor. "YOU SAID HE COULD DIE!" She cried.

"Yeah..." Hiniku chuckled. "I only wanted to see your reaction."

"You..." Temari pointed her finger at Hiniku, he eyes were gleaming murder. "Are going to die."

Hiniku gulped, turned on her heels and ran for her life. Temari followed with her Fan, and swung it in Hiniku's direction many times.

Gaara watched them for a moment, and when he found no interest he left the mansion to find Daagana.


	5. Ninja and Their Curses

((Scroll Fifteen))11/3/2007 10:02:00 AM

Searching for Daagana was something Gaara never thought he would have to do. It seemed very odd, since she was usually always around. With either Temari or him. But since she was with them so often...he didn't know about any of the other places she went.

He went to the ramen shop and only her Ojiisan was there. He went to the burnt side of town and there were only ashes. After that he was just wandering. At about 6 o'clock the sun started to set in the sky and he still hadn't even found a trace of her.

He re-traced his steps to the ramen shop and found Hiniku working quietly.

"Where is Temari?" Hiniku looked up suddenly. She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind the bar, and ducked.

"Don't say her name!" She hissed. Gaara stood abruptly.

"Where is –"

"Don't say it!" Hiniku cried.

"Daagana." Gaara finished. Hiniku sighed in relief, but still hid behind the counter.

"She's training, remember?"

"Where?" He asked. Hiniku peeked over the side of the bar and when she saw Temari was indeed no where to be seen she grabbed his hand and led him to the back of the shop.

Gaara wasn't sure what to make of Hiniku when she picked up a black bag and shoved it in his arms.

"There's an outcropping of rock on the poor side of the village." Gaara slowly nodded as to say he knew what she was talking about...he had made it anyway.

"Every night I take that bag," She pointed to the bag in his arms. "And I take it to Gana so she won't starve." Gaara understood what she was talking about. Before Hiniku had told him that Daagana could be gone weeks at a time. It made sense how she stayed out so long.

"Now..." She said and crossed her arms. "Gana doesn't know I know where she trains so you can't tell her." Gaara cocked an eyebrow.

"If you go over the outcropping about a mile out there's this huge...place." She smiled apologetically. "It's an open space but there are huge rocks everywhere. It supplies Gana with some coverage." Gaara nodded. Seemed reasonable enough.

"And another thing." Hiniku added. "You might as well not make yourself known. She runs away to train for a reason. It's not something she likes people seeing." Gaara nodded and started to leave.

At the entrance of the bar he noticed Temari run by. She stopped and ran back up to him.

"Have you seen Hiniku?" She breathed.

"You've been searching for her all this time?" He squinted at her. She nodded her head and took big breaths.

"She's behind the counter." Gaara said nonchalantly. Hiniku jumped up.

"Traitor!!" she screamed and the chase resumed.

Gaara again took not interest in the chase now that he knew where Daagana was. He wasn't about to waste time trying to calm down Temari. He already knew there was no hope for that.

Gaara was at the outcropping in no time and starring at the small bush that grew at the base of the wall. His world was slowed as he stared at the bush.

He thought he had made it so nothing could grow there. But no...this little bush was trying desperately to live. It's roots sprawled out under him, and dug deep into the ground. Searching for water.

Gaara's mind silently traced back to the time when he made this outcropping. It was when he was a little boy, before Yashamaru...left.

He had been sitting there at the base of the wall when some boys came up to him. At the time he was no older then 6 and the boys seemed to be at least 13 or 14. They said many things to him but the one that stuck in his mind was why Yashamaru bothered to even look at him.

His tears turned savage and the sand around the boys came alive. It caught them all in a bind and held them in the air. (An earlier version of the sand coffin) They screamed madly and Gaara just stood with tears streaming from his eyes.

The only thing he said was that Yashamaru loved him...he had said so. The rest of the story was ancient history. What it came down to was: The boys were clones and it was another assassination attempt. His father had once again tried to kill him. What made the outcropping was Gaara's uncontrollable rage. The sand burst from him like you pop a bubble...only this 'pop' took out 3 houses and created the outcropping.

Ever since then Gaara had dreaded coming to the poor side. Horrible memories were something he couldn't so easily suppress.

I fell to one knee and gasped for air. Ventilation was something that wasn't easily achieved. My stupid little bubble wasn't cooperating with me therefore I had almost suffocated about 5 times now. I pounded the sand with my fists angrily.

"Why can't I just get this right!" I screamed. I stopped myself from going all out and closed my eyes.

"If Giia ever sets the house on fire again I'll be able to save myself, and Hiniku will be able to shove it in Giia's face later." I caught myself smiling at the thought. I shakily stood and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Alright. Let's do this! Jun Chi Noroi: Awa Kuroi no Jutsu! (Obedient Blood Curse: Black Bubble Technique)" I formed the Tiger, Bird, Boar, Fish, and Horse hand seals and concentrated.

Around where I stood a flaming black ring sprang up. It flickered and danced around me in a sickening black circle. As I concentrated harder, the effort that I was putting into it blew back at me. The wind blew about me and rose up the sand to dance around my stiff figure.

"Come on. Come on." I voiced and grunted. "Work!"

Suddenly the flames grew and licked and nipped at my legs. The wind began to swirl over my head and turned into a tornado of wind, sand, chakra, and me.

"Awa Kuroi no Jutsu!" I cried and suddenly the flames became arms and the wind became legs. They swirled around pushing and forming, and in the end a ball of sheer blackness engulfed me. I hugged my knees tightly and concentrated harder then ever before.

"Ventilation." I repeated to myself over and over. I took shallow breaths so I could take more time to ventilate my bubble.

About 2 minuets later my eyes snapped open and I realized I had no more air left. I was on the brink of panic and I put my hands together and gasped.

"Release!" I fell to the ground face first and started to cough up sand and gasp for air.

Gaara's eyes were bigger then they ever had been. This expression of power that he had just witness was something that he would have never thought possible. He doubted that even Uchiha Sasuke could copy the technique Daagana had just preformed. And yet...she was gasping, and gulping at the air. The second part of the jutsu...she hadn't mastered.

Gaara couldn't help but wonder why Daagana chose this form of jutsu to work with. It seemed like something Orochimaru would be interested in. Shadow's and darkness...it didn't seem like she of all people would be working with things such as those. He saw her as more of a water or a genjutsu user.

But no...She conducted shadows. He hopped up onto the rock he had been hiding behind, knowing full well she had no more chakra left, and clearly believing she would try again even without any. She didn't notice him at first.

Yeah...I didn't notice him at first. But how was I supposed to notice a silent figure when I'm gasping for air? I was on all fours panting like a dog before I caught his shadow hovering over me. My head slowly rose up to stare at him...standing on his big rock, like the king himself had come for a visit.

"Gaara." I almost cried. He was the very last person I wanted to know about the curse. I squeezed my eyes shut and told myself my mind was playing tricks on me again. Only half an hour before I had seen flowers sprout up from the sand. I had to be dreaming. But when I opened my eyes and looked back...he was still there. Tall and demanding. He wasn't any illusion in my head.

He was Gaara...in all his glory.

Gaara stood on his rock until she was ready to accept the fact that he was there. Which...took quite a while. She kept looking at him then closing her eyes and shaking her head. Gaara thought it was because he was the first person she knew who knew about her power. It was true that Hiniku knew...but Daagana didn't know she knew. Across the sandy landscape the sun was half set, and the sky was a vibrant shade of orange and red.

Tired of waiting, he hopped down and sat down beside her. She was still on all fours but breathing better.

"You need to rest." He told her.

I had to finally come to terms with the fact that I had been discovered. And not just by anyone. By Gaara! Why did it have to be Gaara? How was he ever going to accept me now?

I quietly sat down beside him and kept my eyes lowered. What was I supposed to say to him? I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He didn't look afraid...His head turned and caught my glance. I quickly turned my head away.

"What?" He asked boredly. I looked at him for a second.

"What do you mean 'what'?" I said hesitantly. He sighed heavily and stood up.

"I'll come back when you are ready to talk." He said and turned his back to me, and began to leave. Many, many thoughts were racing through my head at the moment...but the only one that surfaced was that...I didn't want him to leave!

"Wait!" I cried, and jumped up after him. He stopped and turned back to me...clearly knowing I would stop him. I reached my hands out and grabbed the front of his shirt softly. He pulled me the rest of the way in. Wrapped up in his arms was like...heaven. If there is such a place. I was in it. He was warm, and his arms wrapped around me perfectly. It was like I was made to fit into his arms.

_** Slightly Later **_

I sat snuggly between Gaara's legs, and rest my head on his chest. His arms wrapped around my shoulders and kept away the cold night breeze that was coming with the setting of the sun.

We hadn't said one word the whole time...but silence seemed so much more fitting, seeing the situation we were in. I was in love with him...I didn't know how he felt, and my mother was bent on having him. And on top of that...he knew my secret. Sad to say it was almost a relief to finally be discovered after all this time. I always thought it would be Hiniku who would find it out first. But no...I liked it better this way. So that when the time came, I wouldn't have to tell him then.

I snuggled up closer to his chest and sighed. We couldn't even see the sun anymore and the stars were shining down on us brightly. The moon was in some odd phase that made it look deformed...but hey, it's the moon.

Gaara didn't mind the wind that was blowing...he wasn't cold at all. She was all the warmth he could even need. The fact that she wasn't talking now was a sign that she wasn't going to at all. So much for his master plan. It was diabolical really. His plan. He was going to make it so she wasn't the only one who was going to reveal a secret. He had planned on telling her something very vital to his existence, and possibly hers as well. He was going to tell her-

"Gaara." My voice sounded weak and feeble when I spoke his name. It was slightly awkward...just how I expected it. "I-I want to...ask you something." I said childishly. I sat completely frozen in his...lap, pretty much. How was I supposed to put this? 'I'm madly in love with you and I want you to go and off my mother.'? Heck no. I squirmed innocently while trying to figure out what the heck to say. I could feel his eyes burning down on me, and it made me even more anxious.

"Daagana." I heard him say my name. I turned slightly to look at him out of the corner of my eyes. "I understand."

_** Morning **_

I yawned and stretched on the comfy mattress...Mattress? I sat up quickly and noticed I was in Yashamaru's room. Wait...How did I get here again? I took another look around and noticed a note on the door. I walked over and tore it off. It read:

'Dear Daagana,

I hope you don't sleep to long. Gaara brought you back from the desert last night, and you were already out cold. Gaara and I have gone to check on Kankurou at the hospital. We won't be long. And! Don't you dare run off again.

Love,

Temari.'

I smiled slightly. "Great...now they all know." I said to myself.

I walked downstairs and into the kitchen. It was quite a big kitchen and it was the first time I had been in it. It was wide and had an island in the middle. Everything was made of dried sand as you can expect in the sand village.

"Dang..." I said.

"It's alright." Someone said. I quickly turned around and smiled at Temari.

"I just got your note. I was expecting you to be a little while." She was leaning up against the doorframe laughing at me.

"I left that note 2 hours ago." She laughed, "You were asleep the whole time." I laughed and rubbed the back of my head.

"Whoops..." I laughed. "How is he?" She shrugged and went over to a cupboard.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving." I answered.

"Well to bad...cause its lunch time. Hiniku wants you at the shop pronto." I jumped in surprise.

"Oh no! I'm late!" I cried and ran back upstairs to change.

_** One Week Later **_

I popped a dango ball in my mouth and smiled to myself.

"Stop smiling like a fool!" Hiniku laughed at me. "We have to hurry up and finish and get back to work."

I groaned and slid an entire stick in my mouth. Three balls in all. Hiniku tried not to laugh. She covered up her mouth with her hand but in the end it was inevitable. She burst out laughing and if it hadn't been for my Ojiisan holding her up she would have rolled around on the floor.

"Daagana. Proper dinna' manners ain't somethin' to put on yo' resume." I laughed and swallowed hard. I coughed and pounded my fist on my chest until all the dango balls were down.

"Who said I was going to write a resume anytime soon?" I retorted.

"Alright you two." Hiniku said breathing hard from her laughing fit. "Let's get back to work."

Ojiisan put down a couple of money notes and we left the restaurant, walked across the road and entered the Ramen Shop. At least the dango shop wasn't that far away.

We went about our duties as always: I rolled noodles, Hiniku made the juice and cut the extras, and my Ojiisan went about cooking the meals. Some customers came in, ate and left. Typical day. Phff...How long would that last?

"Wait...What do you mean they needs our help?" Temari asked in shock. "I'm surprised they even allied back up with us, but now they're asking for help?...Do they trust everybody?" Baki sat still at the conference table and stared up at Temari and Gaara. (Kankurou was still recovering.)

"It would seem Uchiha Sasuke has fled from Konoha." Gaara's eyes narrowed. That idiot he fought. That inferior survivor of some inferior clan.

"Not to mention," Baki went on. "If we fail...The Uchiha will successfully be under the control of...Orochimaru." Temari gasped and Gaara's eyes narrowed into tiny slits.

"Orochimaru." He hissed under his breath.

After my shift I walked back across the street to the dango shop and made an order to go. I smiled and walked down through the windy streets and made my way to the rich side of the Village. I slipped off my shoes when I got to the mansion and closed the door behind me.

"Kankurou!" I called as I walked into the kitchen. There was a rustle, a thud, and then Kankurou in all his glory came bounding in the kitchen.

"What did you get me?" He said and hopped eagerly up and down. I laughed at the sight of him begging like a dog. He was wearing his everyday clothes but was missing his hat.

"Where's your hat?" I teased. His ears perked up and he was gone in a flash. Just as quick he was back and his hat was thrown on his head.

"What did you get me?" He asked again. I laughed again at his eagerness.

"Dango Balls." I said and handed his the box. He snatched it out of my hands and was gone.

"You better say 'Thank you'!" I screamed up after him.

"Thank you!" I heard him yell quickly. I smiled to myself and started to clean the kitchen.

It made Temari so mad every time I cleaned or cooked. She said it was a maid's/cook's job. And I told her I was a maid/cook. She would just huff and take whatever I was doing away from me and send me out to do something else. Today was no different. She and Gaara came home about he usual time and she entered the kitchen with the same face as always.

I thought I knew what she was about to say, so when I turned it was no surprise to me when she took the pot I was drying out of my hand. What was a surprise however, is what she replaced the pot with.

My jaw hung slack as I stared down at the article in my hand. "But...I-I..." Was all I got out.

"Baki approved it." Was all she said, and gingerly turned on her heels and left the kitchen. Leaving just me, Gaara, and the Sand forehead protector I held in my hand.

My eyes locked onto his and his never wavered.

"But...Why?" I whispered.

"Do you not want it?" He asked, stiffened by my response. I knew that this isn't how he pictured me taking it.

This isn't how he pictured her taking it. Gaara's version consisted of her jumping into his arms and hugging him 'till he couldn't breath...or somewhere along those lines. But no. She was standing perfectly still, and no hugging was occurring. It disappointed him greatly. It was the thought of her hug that made him keep his blood from boiling when he heard the details about going and getting that idiot Uchiha. But now...he didn't even get that hug.

I watched his face carefully. For the past couple of days I had become more accurate on reading the emotions on his face...even if that face is made of stone. And even with my novice experience I knew...Gaara wanted a hug.

I smiled slightly to myself. 'God I love him' was what went through my head. I quickly jogged forward and threw my arms around his neck.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." I whispered in his ear. His response was to bury his head in the nape of my neck and hang his arms around my loosely.

Better late then never. Better late...then never. Late was better then never. Anything was better then nothing. She...was better then anything.

Gaara didn't exactly like that plan of making Daagana a ninja. In fact, he disapproved of it greatly. Besides the fact that he knew she could fight and protect herself, and BESIDES the fact he always felt better when she was with him, and BESIDES the fact that it kept her away from Giia...He couldn't help but worry. For her safety, for her health, for her sanity, and most of all...he worried about her love for him. Would she love stop loving him if she ever saw him fight? Would she love him any less? Gaara knew he couldn't live if that became true. Since the time they sat and watched the sunset together, he was practically living each day off of the love Daagana gave him. In short he needed her to live, to breath, to function, and to love. How could he love without her? That's a stupid question. Gaara knew there was no way that he would ever love someone else the way he loved Daagana. Nope. But...in his determination to keep her safe he had denied her to words he knew she most desperately wanted. The words that he wasn't even sure he could voice. Although it was engraved on his forehead and on his heart, he wasn't sure if he could ever form the words 'I love you'.

I pulled away from him slowly. "I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression." I said taking one of his hands into my own. "It's just...my power-"

"I understand. I told you that." He said, his eyes gleaming. The corner of my lips perked up.

"Does this mean I get to go on missions?" I asked excitedly. He nodded slowly, and I could see he didn't like the fact. I giggled at his soberness and started out of the kitchen and pulled him behind me.

"Look's like someone's a ninja now!" Kankurou sang. He and Temari were standing in the entryway of the mansion...obviously waiting for us to emerge. My smile only permanently stayed on my lips as I hooked arms with Gaara.

"Where too Cap'm?" I said in my best sailor voice and threw her a salute.

"To Konoha." Temari smirked.

"To Konoha!" I repeated and shoved my finger in the air.

"Wait..." They all looked at me. "Where's Konoha again?"


	6. Konoha! The Town Secrets

((Scroll Sixteen))05/11/2007 14:53:00

"Oy..." Was all I had to say. It was a 2 and a half day walk to Konoha. (Or the Village Hidden in the Leaf as I learned it was called) But nobody bothered to tell me it was the village we had so recently raided! No! I had to learn that from Hiniku.

_** Flashback **_

"_YOU'RE A NINJA!_" She screamed as I entered the ramen shop with my forehead protector around my neck.

"_YOU'RE A FLIPPEN NINJA!_" I laughed at her eyes, which were the size of saucers.

"Yeah. I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow..." I smiled and rubbed the back of my head.

"Can you take my shift?"

Her excitement died instantly, and an anime sweat drop fell off her head.

"Are.You.Kidding.Me!" She cried and waved her hands in the air.

"_WHERE ARE YOU GOING? HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO BE GONE? WHY ARE YOU GOING? WHO THE HECK IS GOING WITH YOU_?" Her last question was a stupid one and she knew it.

"Scratch that last one." She said in a not so ear-splitting voice. I sighed and sat down at the bar.

"Alright..."

_** End Flashback **_

After telling her about the mission specks she told me about the wonderful raid on Konoha that wasn't even a month old. I was extremely surprised and concerned. So much so that I went and hunted down Baki. He scares me. (Just for the record)

_** . Flashback . **_

"But...WHY?" I cried.

"You know very well why." Baki hissed down at me. I swear the man would be less scary if I could only have seen the other side of his face.

"Konoha needs our assistance and this gives us every opportunity to prove ourselves as allies." He picked up a stack of papers and started to walk down a long hallway of the Admin (Administration) Building.

"But-" I protested as I followed after him.

"We raided them! How can they ever trust us again? Sure, we were manipulated and twisted into doing the works of a freaky psychopath that thinks he's a snake! HOW CAN THEY TRUST US!" I cried.

It made absolutely no sense to me. Baki stopped walking abruptly and I bumped into his back. He looked back at me clearly annoyed.

"I don't have this answer. Go annoy someone else." My jaw fell to the floor as he walked away.

_** . End Flashback . **_

I flinched openly as I remembered his glare. Gaara, who was walking beside me, raised an eyebrow. I smiled weakly at him and said,

"Baki."

"You had a run-in with Baki?" Temari asked. I looked forward at her.

"Yeah. Gosh! He wouldn't be so darn scary if I could see his whole face!" Kankurou sputtered into a fit of laughter and Temari and I of us joined him. Gaara just smirked.

"I don't think I've ever seen him without his stupid little flappy mask on!" Temari cried while laughing. I was laughing so hard my side began to hurt and I bent over and Temari and I bumped shoulders.

Ahh...the many joys of friends with scary senseis'.

Has anyone ever told you that camping in the desert isn't very fun? Well...IT'S TRUE! Temari and Kankurou went about making a makeshift tent in the side of a big sand hill. It was pretty much just two poles and a tarp, but it faired quite well.

(Tip: Polls were placed about 7 feet from the hill and the tarp was placed above the polls. It attached to the polls and was supported by the hill.) 

Night falls quickly in the desert so, not 30 minutes after we pitched tent, Temari and Kankurou were already asleep under the tarp. I, on the other hand, couldn't quite sleep knowing that Gaara was sitting up against the pole outside waiting for the sun to raise. I was situated in between Temari and Kankurou, and trying not to wake them, I quietly got to my feet. Kankurou's arms flopped around at my feet like a fish out of water, and the noise he was making was enough to make Gaara turn around.

When he saw me standing there his eyes softened slightly. He stretched out his hand and a small patch of sand came hovering over to where I was standing. I smiled and stepped onto it lightly. It was like stepping onto a hard surface. It didn't bounce or shift. It was completely secure as it hovered back over to where Gaara was sitting, and placed me on the ground beside him.

I looked behind me to make sure I hadn't woken up Temari or Kankurou. Both lay still and I sighed in relief.

"Thanks." I said turning back to Gaara. He looked at me strangely.

"What?" I asked. He just shook his head and turned away to watch the stars shine. But I wouldn't let him do that.

"What?" I asked and tugged on his sleeve. He didn't make any notion to answer me, and didn't bother to look over at me.

"You should get some sleep." He said quietly. I turned my head to the side and studied him.

"Is that why you're sad?"

Did she seriously just as that question? Of course that's why he was sad! She was able to shut her eyes and drift off into a world of her own without worrying about the fact that she was going to unleash...well...you know. She was able to relax and rest. While he...had to wait on the sun. Completely at it's mercy. Weather it was going to rise was it's own business. He knew from many failed attempts that he could not make the sun rise. No matter how many times he wished it, or how many times he cried over it. He knew he had to suffer the dark night alone. He always did and he always will. And she had to go ask him why it made him sad.

His features told me he was thinking. Who knows what...but just...thinking. I slipped my arm to link with his and laid my head on his shoulder.

"If that's why you're sad. Then I guess I'll have to stay out all night with you." His head quickly snapped to the side and stared at me, his jaw dropping to the sand below.

"You...would do that...for me?" He stuttered. I lifted my head and looked at him.

"Of course I would." There was a short pause, then he said,

"But…why?" I smiled up at him and rested me head on his shoulder again.

"Why else?"

The unspoken answer she gave him was far more then Gaara could process. He could just feel her answer radiating off of her. She said it! Well…she didn't really say it…but he knew what she meant. She felt the same as he did! She felt it too! This was it. He had to tell her. His body was stiff and tense. He slowly turned his head and looked at her head and found…the most beautiful sight in the world.

Her head was resting comfortably on his shoulder and her eyes were closed and her breathing was slow. She was asleep. There was a pang of jealousy in Gaara's eyes but it was soon conquered by the one emotion that still held any importance in his life.

Temari's eyes cracked open as she watched the wonderful display before her. Finally! After all these years! Someone besides that backstabbing Yashamaru loves him. Finally! He can see that there's more to life. Finally! He can learn to love and be loved! Finally!...Just Finally. Temari looked up at the tarp above her, and thought about how much better life was going to be after this night. Gaara was going to be different. He was going to show emotion. He was going to conquer his demon. He was going to the brother that had always been hiding! It was crazy how exited she was. She squirmed under her blanket and for the first time she wished the sun to rise so she could see her brother. Of course she wasn't about to interrupt He and Daagana's little love fest. No sir!

"Love him." She whispered to Daagana. "He deserves it."

_** Morning **_

Two flippen' hours! How long does it take to get to Konoha?

"Temari!" I whined as we walked. "Are we there yet?"

"Do not make me come back there!" Temari clenched her fist and a vein about popped on her forehead. It might have been the millionth time I asked that question.

"But I'm bored!" I whined. Kankurou was whining right along with me and by the time we met the border of the forest, Temari was in a murdering mood.

"Just be glad I'm going to beat up some Orochimaru wanna be and not you!" She screamed at me as we parted. Kankurou was anxious to go and was already in the trees waiting. Temari jumped up to join him and then it was just me and Gaara on the ground.

I looked him over carefully, almost afraid it might be the last time I could. He stared at me just as hard.

"You better come back." I said quietly.

"I will." He said simply but that wasn't enough for me.

"You promise?" I took a step closer to him. He only nodded in response. I quickly shifted my gaze down to the ground.

"You better...cause if you don't," I looked back up at him with a smirk, "I'll sick Giia on you." Gaara's face flinched for a moment and I laughed.

"Hurry up and go save some Leaf Ninja!" I cried and lightly pushed him off.

Gaara jumped into the tree beside his siblings but stole on last glance back at Daagana. She was smiling up at him, like she was expecting him to look back at her. God how he loved her more and more with each passing moment. She quietly raised her hand and waved.

"Before you start to drool Gaara." Temari smirked. He turned to her and nodded, and the 3 jumped off the branch.

"I told you they were in love." Kankurou said as he jumped beside his sister.

"No dip Sherlock!" Temari smacked him on the head.

"From here on out...It's my mission!" I squealed happily, and jumped up into the trees and started for the Village of Konoha.

I guess my excitement got the better of me, seeing it was my first mission and all. But I was pretty sure Baki would approve of my swinging through the trees laughing loudly. At a passing glance I probably looked like a monkey drunk on sake, but I was having way too much fun to care.

Swinging through the trees on my way to Konoha I wondered if all my missions were going to be this fun. Suddenly the tree line stopped abruptly and I was propelled forward and SPLAT! I smacked right into a very big and very tall wall.

"I guess not." I mumbled as I peeled myself off the wall and fell back down to earth with a _THUD_.

"What was that?" I heard someone shriek. Defiantly a girl. Obvious with the shrieking and all.

"I think it came from over there." The voice said and then there were footsteps. Great. Someone was coming to check on me...possibly to see it I was alive now that _I SMACKED INTO THE STUPID WALL_! I groaned and rolled over to look up at the person coming towards me...or people. There were two girls. One with pink hair and one with blonde. They were both giving me the weirdest look...like I had just fallen from the sky. Well...I sort of did, but that's not the point.

"What are you staring at?" I asked. In the kindest manner possible of course. The pink headed girl looked a little taken aback while the blonde girl just put her hands on her hips and glared at me.

"Who are you and what's your problem?" The blonde girl hissed.

"My problem?" I asked quickly getting to my feet to match her. "I have no problem except for that fact that I just face planted into a wall!" I cried and rubbed my head pitifully. The blonde girl simmered a bit when she saw I just had a massive headache.

"Sakura. Could you give her anything?" The blonde girl asked. Obviously the girl with the pink hair, who was just standing there, was Sakura. I guess it made since, cause Sakura means Cherry Blossom...and cherry blossoms are pink...as was everything on her body. Besides her sea foam eyes of course.

"We could take her to see Tsunade-sama." Sakura offered. I cocked an eyebrow. That name sounded familiar. Wait for it. Wait for it...Snap! That's the fifth Hokage's name!

"No thank you." I said quickly. "I'm just here to wait at the gate..." I said and passed them quickly. They both turned and followed me to that really big gate that was the entrance to Konoha.

Dang! Konoha is big man! I paused, stunned at what I saw before me. At first I thought that blow to my head was actually serious, but then the girls behind me began to talk

"Should we ask her name?"

"I don't know."

"You're the one who made the big come back! Go and ask who the heck she is!"

"Shut up Ino-Pig! You go ask her."

I quickly stopped myself from laughing. Ino-Pig...that's brutal. I turned to them, and they were pretty much at each other's necks.

"Um...My name is Daagana. I'm from the Hidden Sand." That silenced then pretty quick. Sakura broke away from Ino and her face fell tremendously.

"Why would Tsunade-sama call the sand-nin if the guys couldn't do it themselves?" Ino quickly went and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura...They're fine. Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Neji are perfectly fine. I'm sure Tsunade-sama only called the sand for back up."

I cocked my head curiously. They were just about to kill each other and now they're all buddy-buddy. But the name Naruto did ring a bell. Temari and Kankurou told me of a boy in Konoha named Naruto that beat Gaara. The first and the only to do so. And then Gaara himself told me that Naruto had saved his life. If Naruto was so important to Gaara...I didn't want him to be hurt.

"Naruto? He went with the group to save the Uchiha boy?" I asked quietly. Sakura quickly looked up at me, her sea foam eyes already brimming with tears. She nodded.

"How do you know Naruto?" Ino accused harshly.

"I-I...Gaara told me about-"

"Gaara!" Ino cried. "Gaara of the Desert?" She quickly looked around in fright. "He's not here is he?" I quickly went from peaceful citizen to deadly assassin in the blink of an eye.

"So what if he was?" I went up and got up in her face. She didn't know what to do when a crazy girl was all up in her space, so she quickly pushed Sakura off, and they bolted.

They ran of so quickly I was afraid they might send some other ninja to come and take me out. I have to say that scared me the most. I quietly walked over to a bench off to the side of the road and settled myself down to wait.

God I missed him.

I sat...and sat...and sat. And while sat I was bored. What the heck was Gaara doing out there anyway?

I sighed and closed my eyes. The breeze in Konoha was peaceful...unlike the desert wind in the Hidden Sand.

"Um..." My eyes quickly opened. Before me stood a girl with brown Bonbons on the top of her head and a leaf headband on her forehead. I have to say I haven't seen someone actually wear a forehead protector on the foreheads in such a long time...it almost looked weird at first.

"Um...Hello. My name is TenTen." Since when did people introduce themselves anymore? I quickly got to my feet and offered a hand for her to shake. It was rare that someone would just come up and say hello to a complete stranger.

"I'm Daagana. " TenTen smiled then turned and gestured to people I couldn't see. Low and behold from around the corner of a building came little Sakura and Ino. Almost pitifully they sulked up to where we were standing.

Like a bullet, a very obvious fact slapped my in the face. Ino and Sakura were deathly afraid of me. One, because I scared the crap out of them before. Two, because I defended Gaara. Why do things always work out like this? I knew I had to apologize but TenTen started talking.

"Well Daagana, you see-" Well...I cut her off anyway.

"I'm so sorry!" I quickly bowed to Sakura and Ino. "I didn't mean. I promise. But you were insulting Gaara...and-"

"What?" TenTen stopped me shraply. "You told me she blew up at you for no reason at all!" She turned quickly and glared very pointy daggers at Ino and Sakura.

I quickly straightened myself and watched at TenTen chased them down the streets of Konoha...all the way out of sight.

_** About an Hour Later in Konoha **_

"Sorry about that." TenTen said as she led me to the Ramen bar she offered to take me to after she decimated Ino and Sakura. "I didn't mean to blow up at you like that."

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed, "You didn't blow UP at me! You blew THEM up!" We walked into a very crowded ramen bar and I stopped abruptly.

"Why in the world is it so crowded?" TenTen pulled me over to the counter at the far end and wrestled a couple of people for two stools. Of course she won and we sat. A young girl with brown hair handed us some menus and I looked back at TenTen.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Nope." She giggled and ordered her food. I did the same but I wasn't about to let her off that easy.

"Why not?" I pressed. She looked over at me then put a finger to her lips like she was shushing someone.

"It's a secret."

What kind of secret? Why would a crowded ramen bar be a secret...it's not exactly the ideal place to hole a secret gathering seeing that it's the brightest thing on the street at the moment.

I ate my bowl of ramen in silence. Thinking was the hardest thing for me to do. Maybe it was because my brain had a lack of oxygen from the million times I tried to teach myself how to control that stupid little bubble. Or maybe it was because I was worried about weather or not Giia was killing Hiniku. Or perhaps it was because I had _NO IDEA _what was happening to Gaara at the moment...and it made my stomach churn.

"Are you alright?" I snapped out of my trance and looked over at the man who sat beside me. He had a funny little ponytail and a long scar across his nose.

"I'm fine. Why?" I asked quietly.

"Well...for starters, you haven't touched your ramen. And you looked very unhappy." I cocked my head at the man.

"I didn't look unhappy." I said a little taken aback.

"Yes you did." TenTen leaned over and budded into out conversation. I pushed her back out and I sighed.

"Whom were you thinking about?" The man asked.

"No one." I said and quickly turned back to my untouched bowl. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man smile warmly.

"I was also thinking of someone close to me. Right now he's on a mission to bring back his best friend." I looked back over at the man.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Umino Iruka." He said and extended his hand for me to shake.

"Daagana." I said and shook his head. "I'm from the Hidden Sand." And guess what! He didn't flinch at the mention of the Sand Village. He didn't turn away its name.

"The Sand Village eh? Are you familiar with Sabaku no Gaara?" He asked.

"Yes. I came with his team. But I stayed out of the battle." I said quietly...hoping that he didn't notice how my cheeks turned pink at the mention of Gaara.

"Why stay from the battle. They very well need more hands out there." He said.

"I'm sure Gaara and Naruto have it under control." I smiled.

Iruka-sensei sort of cocked his head and stared at me for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked.

"How do you know Naruto?" He asked still staring at me. I inched away slightly as his eyes never moved and paused my answer.

"Gaara mentions him sometimes. And Temari and Kankurou say he the only one who's ever beaten him. I always thought-"

"Gaara talks about Naruto?" Iruka-sensei asked...astonished.

"Yes. Why is that surprising?" I asked.  
Iruka-sensei just sat there, looking very tired...yet he was smiling.

"Do you know why it's so crowded in the Ramen bar tonight?" He asked quietly after a few moments.

"No. TenTen won't tell me." I pouted. Iruka laughed at my little joke and then grew quiet again.

"So..." I looked around as I spoke, "Are you going to tell me?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I got caught up in my own thoughts." He waved his hand in the air. Then he gestured to everyone in the building.

"We have a secret. All of us come here to cheer for Naruto." Pause.

"What?" I asked. He chuckled then called over to the old man how ran the place. He reminded me of my Ojiisan.

"Tenchi. Who is your best customer?"

"Naruto of course!" The man boomed. Iruka gestured to a woman on the other end of the bar.

"Lady Hana. Who goes out of his way to bring back your lost cat?" 

"Uzumaki Naruto." The fat woman said as she hugged a cat.

"TenTen," Iruka turned to her, "How is the craziest ninja you know?"

"Naruto." TenTen smiled and held up a peace sign. Then Iruka turned back to me, and everyone else was watching us as well.

"You see Daagana. We all have a connection to Naruto. He may be the most annoying ninja in the Fire country...but he is the most determined and the most kind hearted. You're always on the best team when you fight with Uzumaki Naruto." The bar erupted into a loud roar, and you know what? I cheered right along with them.

Uzumaki Naruto. You have done so much for Gaara, and so you have done a great deal for me. Me, standing here in this bar, cheering your name, is my way of repaying my debt to you. I understand that I will never compare to what you have given me...but I know that even though you don't know about these secret meetings, perhaps you feel the support that they offer. I only hope that one day you will see how much you village truly loves you. Because they do love you, very much. Please...I beg you. Please never change. They need you. We all need you.

"Gents! Their back!" A random man called from the road outside.

"Who's back?" I asked TenTen.

"What a stupid question! Naruto's back!" She cried and the Ramen bar emptied out into the streets.


	7. Love and Violence is in the Air

09/11/2007 14:58:00

We all emptied out into the streets of Konoha, but I turned back. Iruka-sensei was still sitting at the ramen bar, sipping his sake.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked. Suddenly a raindrop dropped

down onto my nose. I looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds were darkening severely, and it was starting to rain.

"They shouldn't be back yet. It's only been a couple of hours."

Iruka-sensei said and took another sip. Quickly the rain started to fall down and land on me.

Only every raindrop felt like a punch. 'They weren't supposed to be back yet.' Did that mean...Gaara!

I turned my back on the ramen bar and raced after the rest of the crowd. I pushed and shoved my way to the middle of the road and found that a line had formed where numerous medical-nin were ferrying in ninja. All of them, my age, and all of them closer to death then I had ever been. Even with Giia as a mother.

First they brought in a boy who was so skinny I was afraid his skin was going to fall off his bones.

Next came boy with long hair and a strange mark on his forehead. Much different from the one on my arm, but I felt it held the same meaning. He held something small and white in his hand. I squinted to see what it was but the medical-nin were quick to get him out of the rain.

Third to come was Kankurou. He was carrying someone on his shoulder. I broke away from the crowd and ran over to him and took the boy's other arms and we carried him together.

"Kankurou! Are you alright?" I asked franticly.

"A few scratches here and there, but I'm fine." He huffed. He was lying...I could tell.

"

Who is this?" I asked nudging the boy we were carrying.

"That's Inuzuka Kiba. And that's Akamaru."

"Huh?" I scanned the boy quickly and saw there was an odd lump in his shirt, and a tail was sticking out.

"A dog?" I looked back over at Kankurou.

"Yeah," He said as some medical-nin began to take Kiba from our arms. As I saw, one girl had the same markings on her face as Kiba had on his, but I quickly forgot about it. "Kiba and his family all have K-9 companions. And just between you and me," He said and pulled me closer, "They're pretty dang strong." He said and started in the direction of the hospital.

"Daagana!" I quickly turned around to see Temari walking up. "You okay?" She asked.

"Am I okay? Why are you asking about me? What about you! Are you okay?" I cried.

"I'm alright. The girl I fought was already pretty weak. And I have to saw Shika toned her down a little," She huffed, "But only a little." I cocked my head and stared at her.

"Who's Shika?" I asked. She quickly cleared her throat.

"I said Shikamaru."

"No you didn't." I corrected her.

"Of course I did. Why would I say anything different then his name?" She cried.

"Can you be anymore obvious?" I asked her and crossed my arms.

"Shut Up!" She cried and stormed off.

"Wait Temari! Don't leave me here alone!" I cried and followed her.

My panic was almost gone. Kankurou and Temari were fine...but where was Gaara? Also...where was Naruto? I strained my eyes through the rain to see if I could spot his red hair.

By the time I caught a glimpse of his head, the crowd had dwindled. Only those...faithful enough I guess, were waiting for Naruto. Iruka-sensei had come out of the ramen bar and was standing beside me. The rain had cried it's self out and all that was left were the gray clouds that put us all in a gloomy mood. Not that any other mood would have been better for the occasion.

Someone had already gone and told the Hokage that the mission was a failure. Somebody told us that she was already at the hospital helping the boys that had already been brought in. I recalled Ino and Sakura saying something about the Fifth being a great medical-nin...but at the time it didn't seem so important as it did right now.

I always wondered why things work out the way they do. Like...why did that idiot Orochimaru have to go and kill the Kazekage? Or, why did the Uchiha boy have to be so selfish and go off and get all these Genin hurt? But I knew the answers to both. Greed, Selfishness, Hate, Deceit, Carelessness, and just plain Heartless people who wanted everything and wouldn't give anything back.

But of course...If Orochimaru hadn't killed the Kazekage; I never would have had the opportunity to meet Temari, Kankurou, or Gaara. And then...If that stupid Uchiha hadn't run away I would have never met TenTen or Iruka-sensei, and I would have never known about Naruto like I do. So I guess... the thing I'm wondering now is...Are these things all planed out...Or is it fate? Is it destiny? Or is it just plain luck.

"Daagana, look." Temari elbowed me in my ribs. I shook my head slightly and looked on ahead to see a bright red head coming up the road.

"Gaara?" I said...as if I couldn't believe it was him. Uh, Duh! Of course it was him! Who else has hair like that?

"Gaara!" I cried and ran from the place I was standing. He was safe. I felt like if I died at that moment it wouldn't have mattered. I would have died happy.

Gaara trudged slowly beside Lee. Lee wasn't as tired as he was...not even close. Half the time he fought Kimimaru, he was drunk, and it barely affected him. After the battle he was perfectly preppy...as always. He even offered to carry Gaara. Besides the fact that riding on Lee's back was very disgusting, Gaara didn't mind the kind gesture...he denied it of course, but the gesture was still enough to keep him in a good mood.

What was really running through his mind at the moment was if Naruto had gotten back with Uchiha Sasuke. Scary how things work out. Gaara was so ready to kill Naruto at the Chuunin Exams and now here he was...praying for his safety.

"Gaara-kun? Are you alright? Are you sure you wouldn't like me to carry you? I can assure you it's no trouble." Lee asked again.

Gaara only shook his head.

As the duo came upon the gates, Gaara saw that a line had formed. Obviously for the other Genin who had fallen behind. But Gaara knew it was unlikely for these Leaf Genin to fall behind. It was unlikely for any them to fall at all.

"Gaara!" Someone suddenly yelled.

"Gaara-kun did you hear that? Someone's calling your name." Lee asked. Suddenly Gaara stopped walking. He had been so busy with the battles that he had completely forgot about her! He hadn't given one thought to her safety, or her feelings in this strange, new village. How could he do that? Can you do that to someone you love? Gaara wondered. Can you forget about them but still love them?

But it didn't matter as much when she ran full speed into his arms and practically knocked him off his feet. Naw, it didn't matter at all.

I guess I couldn't get there fast enough. I was practically running ninja speed when I tackled him. I was surprised his sand didn't come out and squish me to the ground. I was going as fast as any kunai.

"You scared me half to death!" I cried and squeezed the living daylights out of him. "I thought you had died! I thought the stupid Shukaku had gone all stupid and...and...I missed you!" I cried and buried my face in his chest.

I guess it was a bit much to take in at the moment. I had knocked him off his feet. And we were sitting on the ground in front of all Konoha. And I was all over him...squeezing like no tomorrow. I loosened my grip and looked up at him. And do you know what I saw?

HE WAS SMILING!! OMG! Sabaku no Gaara was genuinely smiling. It was beautiful by the way. It beat just about every sunset or sunrise I had ever seen. And let me tell you...out training for 2 weeks...I've seen a lot of sunsets and sunrises.

"Who are you?" We both looked over to a boy who was staring at us. I scanned him over and came to the conclusion that he was Rock Lee, the boy Gaara had fought in the Chuunin exams. The green pspandex confirmed it, but just in case, I leaned over and whispered in Gaara's ear.

"Is that Rock Lee?" He nodded and I smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Lee." I said up to him. It looked like he was shocked that I knew his name...I guess I ruined his introduction. But from the look I was getting from Gaara as we stood, I probably didn't want to see it anyway.

"It's nice to meet you...um..." He stumbled and I realized he had asked for my name.

"Oh! I'm sorry. My name is Daagana." I said and we shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you Daagana." He said and smiled at me. His smile sparkled and I had to blink a couple of times before I could see again.

"Come on," I said and grabbed Gaara's arm, "Temari is waiting, and Kankurou is already at the hospital." I began to pull him towards the gates, but he stopped.

"Where is Naruto?" I looked back at him sadly, and let go of his arm.

"He hasn't come back yet."

Needless to say Gaara wasn't very happy after that. No more smiles for my redheaded lover. No sir.

Temari, Gaara, Lee, and I walked in the direction of the hospital...and it was very quiet.

"Daagana!" Suddenly sliced the silence and I turned around to TenTen.

"Yeah?" I asked innocently.

"Have you seen Neji? Is he okay? Is he alright?" She ran up to me and shook my shoulders roughly. My head bounced forward and back and my world began to spin.

"I...don't...know who...Neji...is." I said between her shakes.

"TenTen," Lee said and practically tore her off me, "You're hurting her." Temari placed her hand on my shoulder to steady me, but it didn't really help.

"I'm sorry." TenTen said quietly. Lee spoke softly to her then nodded to Gaara and the rest of us, and quietly led her away.

Temari was holding me up and saying something to Gaara...but my eyes were scanning the sky. Hadn't it just been raining? Wasn't the sky just crying? Then...why were the clouds so big and beautiful?

"Temari?" I said in a dreamy way. She looked down at me with that look she always had when she was worried about my sanity.

"What?"

"Why are the clouds so pretty?" I asked and sighed happily.

PLOP! Temari took her hands away and I fell right over. But hey...the clouds were just as pretty from the ground.

"You sound like Shikamaru." She lectured me from above.

"Speak of the devil." She muttered and stood up. Another person walked up and began to speak with Temari, but I just laid there.

Gaara squatted down beside my head and squinted at me.

"Why are you looking at the sky?" He asked.

"Because it's the only thing almost as beautiful as your smile." I said honestly. I heard Temari turn around quickly and I knew she was staring at me. I lifted my head up and saw a boy was standing by her. He wore a Konoha vest and his hair in a ponytail.

I propped up on my elbows and stared at him.

"Did TenTen shake you enough to damage your brain?" Temari said and bent down and pulled me to my feet.

"I think so." I sniffed.

"Take her to see Sakura. She's Tsunade's apprentice. Maybe she can smack her back into shape." The boy said. I looked him over again and then stared at Temari.

"That's Shikamaru?" I pointed at him.

"That's him." She nodded. His face held a permanent frown and it didn't suit him very well.

"Why do you like _him_?" I asked. Her face turned 100 different shades of red and she smacked her hand over my mouth before I could say anything else.

_** An Hour Later **_

"I'm Sorry. I don't know what came over me." I apologized to Temari. We sat outside a medical emergency room. The light above the door was lit and I had been told that the light meant that the person inside was being treated.

"Who's in there Temari?" I asked and nodded towards the door.

"Akimichi Choji, I think." She answered. She was lazily seated on one of the benches that sat outside the room.

"Akimichi Choji? Who's he?" I asked and sat down beside her.

"He's on the same team as Shikamaru." She answered. "Who now thinks I'm a freak, by the way." She added.

"Is said I was sorry!" I pouted and crossed my arms. "TenTen messed up my brain!" I whined.

"Pff. That's a lame excuse."

"So." I slumped over. I was overly bored. Kankurou was in Kiba's room, and Gaara was avoiding me. I did call him beautiful...I would avoid me to.

"I'm gonna go check on Kankurou and Kiba. Will you be okay here?" I asked and stood.

"Sure..." Temari sighed and I rounded the corner and lost sight of her. As I continued to walk down the hall, I saw Shikamaru walking opposite me. As we passed each other, he acknowledged my presence with the slight nod of this head then was gone around the corner...the same corner Temari was around.

I asked a couple of people were Kiba's room was...And of course I ended up in the wrong room anyway.

I opened the door and saw a girl standing at the bedside of the boy with the seal on his forehead.

"Oh!" I cried. "I'm sorry." I said and just about slid the door closed, but the girl turned to me and I saw that she was crying.

"It's alright." She whispered. I took a deep breath and stepped into the room and closed the door behind me.

"My name is Daagana. I live in the Sand Village. I came here with Gaara's team. I was just looking for Kiba's room...It's around here somewhere-"

"It's the next room on the right." She cut me off. It wasn't in the happiest of ways...but she wasn't in the happiest of moods. I paused for a moment and made my decision.

"What's you're name?" I stepped lightly to stand beside her and study her better. Her frame was small and fragile, and it didn't help that her eyes were white as snow. You can tell so much about a person from their eyes. But not her's.

"Hyuuga Hinata." She answered quietly.

"Who's that?" I motioned towards the boy in the bed.

"Hyuuga Neji." She answered just as quietly.

Her white eyes brimmed with tears and I was just waiting for them to change color...or something. Something that would give away her emotion. But they didn't. They stayed white. How lucky she must be, to be able to hide her emotions so easily, unlike myself who wears my heart on my sleeve. Not saying that it's a bad thing...but I would be nice to be able to fool the ones you love. Say...Gaara for instance. He can practically read my mind, but really he only reads my face.

"He's my cousin." She said quietly. I nodded to her and showed her I understood. To the right of Neji's bed was a nightstand that held a vase with three flowers in it. Each was a different color and a different type.

"Do those flowers mean anything?" I asked, trying to take her attention off her sorrow.

"Yes." She walked over and fiddled with a pedal of a flower.

"What does this one mean?" I asked and picked up a pink flower that had many pedals.

a target"blank" img src"http://i148. border"0" alt"Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /a 

"That's a Carnation," She said taking the flower from me. "It's the flower that represents the month of January." She placed the flower back in the vase with the others.

"What about that one." Instead of grabbing it, I pointed to a white and yellow flower.

a target"blank" img src"http://i148. border"0" alt"Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /a 

"What month does that one represent?"

"December. They're called Narcissus." She answered. I eyed the other flower. I knew what that one was. A Water Lily.

a target"blank" img src"http://i148. border"0" alt"Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket" /a 

"Why those specific flowers?" I asked curiously. She paused for a moment before speaking.

"I was born in December, hence the Narcissus. Neji was born in July, hence the Water Lily..." She paused.

"What about the last one?" I pressed. She took a deep breath.

"The Carnation for January...His father's birthday." She said and turned away from me and back to his bedside.

"Where's his fa-"

"He's dead."

I quietly turned around and headed for the door, but her small voice halted my step.

"He went after Sasuke-kun, and came back...like this." I didn't have to see her face to know that her eyes were brimming with tears again, and threatening to spill over. And it'd be a lie to say I could relate.

"He fought bravely." I said, still facing the door.

"How do you know?" She said and turned to me. I paused to consider my answer.

"Because he's alive, and the other is dead." I answered.

That was probably the worst thing I could have told her. It was wrong! It was all wrong! Orochimaru is still alive and he's killed so many! But then why...When I turned around, she was looking back down at Neji with a small smile on her face. My stupid comment gave her so much peace. How did that happen? Why did it happen?

I sat beside Kankurou in Kiba's room a few minutes later. He was resting at the moment and Kankurou was just sitting there...staring at him. My earlier question was still bothering me, and I squirmed under the heavy silence that filled the room.

"Kankurou." I half whispered.

"Hmm?" He grunted.

"Why do people want peace?"

He turned his head and studied me. When he saw I was serious he turned his gaze over to Kiba's heart monitor.

"We're just human Daagana," His gaze faltered and scanned over to the bed on the floor where Akamaru was laying.

"We're all just human no matter how much we deny it. The feeling of peace is the one that gives us confidence," He sat back in his chair and rested his head on the wall.

"And being human," He looked over at me, "We're greedy jerks with way to much confidence."

I cocked my head and squinted at him.

"That made no sense." I said.

"Exactly." He said and pointed at me. "If life made sense...There would be no need for peace."

"That had nothing to do with my question!" I cried and jumped from my chair.

"Sure it did." He said, not fazed at all by my outburst. I grunted at him and fled from the room.

Down the hall I saw Shikamaru standing in the middle of the hallway, crying. _'We're just human'_, ran through my mind. My breath caught in my throat and I fled back down the hall and out of the hospital. The bright sun greeted me and I glared up at it.

"It was just raining!" I cried. Suddenly I looked forward and saw a ninja walking down the street with a buddy.

"Yeah! Orochimaru is a wimp! If they had sent me with that team I would have beat him for sure!" His buddy didn't agree. _'Peace gives us confidence'_. I shook my head and ran down the road.

Everything was blending together...The problems of this world were evident. Orochimaru was a big one, but more over, so was our confidence of taking him down. But at that stage...it was more a cocky gesture then confidence. It was more pride then honor. People were so engrossed in their own lives that they couldn't notice that their brother was having the same problems just ten times worse! And as I ran my mind refused to let me see that I was having the same problem as anyone else. The same problem the rest of the world was experiencing.

People wanted peace because it gave them a reason to act strong. Not truly be strong...just pretend.

People wanted peace because they didn't actually want to fight.

People wanted peace because...they were afraid of what real battle was.

I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of the street. The sun beat down on my back with the same intensity as my thoughts as they raced through my mind. Around me, villagers were going about their everyday routines. One man was pulling a cart along the road. Another woman was selling things on an old run on the side of the dirt road. Going about their lives as normal and as easy as they could, because the truth was...

We were all afraid of life.

I stood in the middle of the road for a very long time. Thoughts swirling, head pounding, trying to figure out everything. Have you ever tried to figure out why we live? It's VERY hard to process. I kept thinking how in the world I had made it this far with Giia as a mother...but then I thought about Gaara and Naruto being bearers of demons and I found I had it easy.

"Hey! Get out of the road!" Someone yelled at me. I turned around and-

"Get out of the road!" A man bellowed in my face. He pulled a cart and I was obviously in his path.

"Sorry." I said and retreated to the side of the road.

An old woman sitting on a rug beside me looked up at me with a glare.

"What are you looking at? Fuketsu suna kuzu. ((Filthy Sand Trash))." My heart stopped and I stared at the woman wide-eyed and open mouthed.

"What did you say?" I said shocked.

"What? You think just because we are allies means we will trust your filthy people? Did you really think we would believe you again? After what you did to us?" The woman's face was turning red with effort as she insulted my entire life. People from the street who held the same ideas as her began to surround me. I looked around, scared out of my wits.

"We're just here to help!" I cried, as the crowd started shouting insults and curses at me.

"You're 'Help' killed my son!" A man shouted.

"My shop is ruined thanks to your 'Help'!" Another woman shouted.

"I have permanent scars from your 'Help'!" A ninja shouted.

"You're 'Help' ruined my family!" A mother shouted and clutched her child. I stared down at the little girl. Her eyes were as big and frightened as mine were. She was holding on to her mother for dear life.

Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. A man wearing an apron reared his fist back and threw it towards me.

As if all time stopped...

I moved to the side and let the punch pass.

"Hold still you Ama! ((Bitch))." I gasped and a glossy motion grabbed the man's out stretched fist, and sent my free hand into his stomach in a fist. Uppercut. The man gasped for air and fell to his knees. I held my breath and for a split-second...all was quiet.

First to come were the Konoha ninja. From all directions they came at me, and in each direction they fell. It felt like my body was moving on my own and each person was a victim of someone else. Not me, surely not me.

The little girl who was holding on to her mom was crying non-stop. Her mother was screaming bloody murder as I defended myself. I never went at anyone. They all came at me. I wanted to make sure people understood that. I didn't want to hurt them...but in the end they ended up in the ground anyway.

Suddenly my body was frozen mid-punch, and the man I was fighting delivered a bone shattering punch in my direction. Right as his fist would have connected with my face a wall of sand surrounded my face. And it took me that long to realize that I couldn't move because I was incased in sand.

"Gaara." I whispered. I was hoisted into the air and set softly down on the street. The sand released me and I sank to me knees in front of Gaara.

"I didn't start it," was the first thing I said to him. But even with my emotion-reading experience...I couldn't read his face. But that was enough to tell me that he didn't believe me...

He stepped around me and faced the mob in a challenging gesture. They all glared but none advanced. The ones that I had knocked out weakly got to their feet and continued to glare. I swallowed hard when the men and women dispersed and fled the scene. The little girl was carried away in her mother's arms, but she stared back at me over her mother's shoulder, and in her big wet eyes I could see the beginnings of a cold-hearted glare.

I dropped my head and Gaara turned back to me. I refused to see his face. I knew he didn't believe me. He had the whole village to testify. And they would all say I started it. So it was my word over theirs, and mine didn't count for much.

"Gaara-" I tried to say but he walked away. Down the road and towards the hospital. A couple feet away he turned back and motioned for me to follow him. I did so reluctantly. I got up and dusted myself off and walked behind him all the way to the hospital.

When we arrived he still didn't address me. Instead he led me forward into the building and weaved his way through the hallways until he stood in front of a door. I kept my head bent as he opened the door. He gestured for me to go in, and I did so. The room was small and had two beds. One of which was empty. The other was occupied by a mummy. I could plainly see the yellow hair sticking out on top, but he rest of the body as wrapped up in linens. Gaara lightly pushed on my shoulder, which meant 'go forward'. I walked on to the end of the bed and stared at the boy. I heard Gaara close the door and walk up beside me. He was as solid as a pillar of sand.

"Uzimaki Naruto."

I gasped and looked back at the boy. His eyes were cracked and he was staring at me. His eyes were a bright blue and he had a small smile on his face.

"Daagana." The boy said. He sat up and smiled a big goofy grin at me. I wasn't expecting that. He was wrapped up so tightly that I thought he was paralyzed. But he jumped right up.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Uzimaki Naruto! The future Hokage! Believe it!" I blinked rapidly. THIS was Naruto?

Gaara wasn't necessarily avoiding Daagana. He just didn't want to embarrass her...or himself for that matter. He had to say that he wasn't expecting her to call him beautiful. No one had ever said that to him, and frankly he didn't want and one else to ever say it again. In all honest it made him feel like a girl. Girls were beautiful, guys were hansom...or so he had been told. And Gaara was most certainly NOT a girl.

So yes...he steered clear for a while, but by no means was he avoiding her.

While Daagana sat with Temari outside Akimichi Choji's operation room, Gaara stayed with Lee in his room.

"So..." Lee said as a medical-nin tended to his minor cuts and bruises. "Daagana seems...nice." Gaara leaned against the wall and stared out the large window beside Lee's bed. He grunted in response.

Lee, being the determined, youthful, spandex-wearing ninja that he was, wouldn't stand for Gaara's meaningless grunt.

"When did you meet her?" Lee asked as the medical-nin finished up.

"Before the Chuunin Exams." Gaara answered shortly. He didn't know why but he didn't like all these questions.

"Where did you meet her?" Lee asked another annoying question as the medical-nin left and closed the door behind him.

"In my village." Lie. Gaara distinctly remembered their first meeting in the herb canyon on the outskirts of the village. He hadn't paid any attention to her then. She was just a girl Temari had taken pity on. Now...Well, now he couldn't live without her.

"Why didn't she come out and fight with us?" Another annoying question.

This one, however, was a toughy. Gaara's mind fought between telling the truth, which was that he didn't want Daagana to fight, or lie and make up some random story that he knew Lee wouldn't buy. It was obvious which Gaara should have chosen, but instead he chose the later of the two.

"She's scared of fighting Orochimaru. " Gaara lied.

It only took a couple of moments for Gaara to see that Lee didn't believe him.

"Gaara-kun, don't be ashamed but," Lee stood to face his friend, "If she loves you like I think she does, there is no possible way she could be afraid of someone like Orochimaru."

Gaara's first reaction was to be angry, but he simmered and sorted through his thoughts. Lee was obviously talking about Shukaku from experience. It was no lie that the Shukaku was frightening...but he was also really funky. Of course Gaara had always been asleep when he was released, but from accounts from Naruto and Temari...The Shukaku was a loser. Sure, the raccoon-dog terrorized villages, took over bodies, turned fathers on their sons, and ruins lives...but he also screams like a girl. How can you be scared of something that screams like a girl?

"Gaara-kun?" Lee placed his hand on Gaara's shoulder. "We can leave now." Gaara nodded and followed his bushy browed friend out the door.

Gaara parted with Lee at the entrance. He was going to do 500 laps around the village or something suicidal like that. He, on the other hand, ventured back into the hospital. Gaara rounded the corner to Choji's operating room but stopped abruptly. Standing in front of him was Nara Shikamaru, crying. Gaara stared at him in utter confusion. Shikamaru was pessimistic but Gaara always thought that he was able to control his emotions. Temari was behind him sitting on a bench. A man who looked identical to Shikamaru was leaning on the wall opposite Gaara, and last...The 5th Hokage was sitting on the other bench in the hallway. The sign above Choji's room was dark. He was going to be fine.

Temari caught him looking around the room. She stood up and started in his direction. She stopped behind Shikamaru and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It a failing success." She whispered in his ear, and then continued on to Gaara.

"They brought in Naruto," Temari's eyes sparkled, "He's alive."

That was all that Gaara needed to forget about Shikamaru.

"What room?" He asked.

"I don't know. Shika...maru," She coughed the rest of his name out, "You know where it is. Take Gaara." Shikamaru sniffed and wiped his face.

"Yeah." He said quietly, and started down the hall. Gaara looked at Temari who was staring him down, and concluded that Daagana was right. Holy Crap! Daagana!

"Where's Daagana?" Gaara hissed at Temari.

"She went to check up on Kankurou and Kiba a while ago." Temari shrugged. Gaara retreated down the hallway in the direction of Kiba's hospital room.

"Nope. She left a while ago." Kankurou said and relaxed back in his chair.

"Who did?" Kiba asked from his bed.

"Gaara's girlfriend." Kankurou smirked, but Gaara didn't have time to argue with them. Not that he would anyway, but he was starting to...become concerned. Future Kazekages do not panic under stress...they're simply concerned.

"Do you know where she went?" Gaara hissed at his big brother.

"Nope. She left in an uproar. But," Kankurou paused, "She did ask me something weird."

"What?" Kiba asked, interested.

"She wanted to know why people wanted peace...or something like that." Kankurou shrugged.

"Peace?" Kiba's ears perked up.

"Yeah...something about peace."

Gaara didn't know what to make of it. All he did know was that people were running down the street with angry looks on their faces. He retreated from the window and out of the room in a dash. He obviously couldn't get there fast enough because mid-run he burst into sand and formed again outside the hospital.

There, just down the road some was a very angry mob. And smack-dab in the middle was Daagana.


	8. Dear Hinata, I'm Lost!

Gaara completely threw the whole non-panicking thing out the window and stormed down the street. Although...when he got there, he saw something he didn't really want to see at all...

Daagana was kicking butt. She kicked and punched and dodged like any great ninja would, and that made Gaara's heart ache. He made a note that she stayed back until they came to her. She wasn't charging but defending.

He snapped himself out of his own trance and conjured up some sand and threw it in Daagana's direction. He caught her in mid-punch and saw that, that was a mistake. The ninja she was currently facing sent his fist in her general direction and just in the split-second time Gaara sent up a wall of sand to protect her face.

She whispered his name.

"Gaara..." He lifted her out of the mod and gently set her down before him. She fell to her knees and said, "I didn't start it."

Gaara's thoughts turned on him and he looked over at the mob. They were just villagers. Everyday people who would lie in a second and tell them the sand ninja started the fight. Gaara knew that Baki wouldn't approve of the fight and...

Gaara stepped in front of Daagana in realization. Baki would take away her headband and she wouldn't be a ninja anymore! Gaara's plot still swirled in his mind as the mob dispersed. If Daagana wasn't a ninja Gaara could sleep easier at night...that is if he slept at all. But that wasn't the point. The point was that Gaara had the perfect excuse to take away Daagana's ninja rank.

"You're Naruto?" I gasped quietly. His face still held it's big goofy grin as he threw me a thumbs up.

"The one and only!" Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head like it was a joke.

I didn't care if Gaara was mad at me; I about-faced and stared at him.

"That's Naruto? The one who beat you? The one with Kyuubi? The one who saved...you." I slowed myself down and forced myself to look back at Naruto. Everything about him was...goofy. Spiky yellow hair, 3 little stripes on each cheek, and those bright blue eyes. He was staring out the big window beside his bed. I followed his gaze to the clouds and judging by their color I dared to say it was about 5 o'clock.

He was simply staring at the clouds, and I was simply staring at him.

"Sakura and Shikamaru just left." He said a minute later, his eyes never leaving the clouds. "Shikamaru always stares at the clouds." He whispered.

That's when I saw it. It confused me for a moment, but a small smiled sat on his lips. A secret smile...like he had a secret with the clouds he was staring at. I really, REALLY wanted to ask him why he was smiling, but something told me that this was defiantly Naruto. The one and only. Believe it.

_** Next Morning **_

I didn't get much sleep that night, and woke with the sun. But Temari and Kankurou woke up soon after and we prepared to leave.

We set out around 8 o'clock and the village was already alive around us. As we neared the gate, I took my time and glanced at each shop and sign. One sign off to my left caught my eye. Yamanaka Flowers. Yamanaka! I groaned suddenly and flapped my forehead.

Temari turned back to me and cocked her head.

"What's up?"

_**(Flashback)**_

Naruto and I burst into a fit of laugher. I was laughing so hard my side was starting to hurt.

"Ino-Pig!" I cried and started to laugh again.

"Ino and Sakura have been enemies ever since the academy!" Naruto's whole body shook with laughter.

I wiped a tear from my eyes as the last few laughs left me.

"Haruno Sakura, right?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Yep! And Yamanaka Ino. Her family owns a flower shop, I think." Naruto said and rubbed the back of his head.

"A flower shop?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah! With all kinds of flowers! Even Shinobi Flowers!"

"What's a Shinobi Flower?" I asked. I had never in all my years living with Hiniku heard of a Shinobi Flower. She was an avid flower person seeing that she was going to become a medical-nin.

"Um..." Naruto chucked and I smiled to myself. He had no clue.

_**(End Flashback)**_

Temari shook my shoulder lightly.

"You okay?" I shook my head and looked at her suddenly.

"I forgot to do something!" I cried and bolted for the flower shop.

"Ino! Ino! Ino-!" I called out her name until I ran into the counter. She stared at me wide-eyed, frozen in place.

"Ino! What flower represents the month of September?" I asked quickly.

"Don't hurt me!" She cowered.

"I'm not gonna hurt-"

"Not you! Him!" She cried and ducked under the counter.

I looked over my shoulder at Gaara, who stood in the entrance. He wasn't in a very happy mood this morning and I knew that he didn't want to be kept waiting. Ino had every right to be scared.

"Come on Ino. He's not gonna hurt you. Now," I said as I leaned over to counter and smiled at her, "Which flower for September?"

I rushed into the hospital and around the corner. I had to be quick about this because Gaara was getting more annoyed by the second.

I charged into Neji's room and found little Hinata right where I had left her the say before.

_**(Flashback) **_

"I'm glad I met you Naruto." I said as I stood in his door.

"Me too Daagana. Do me a favor...Two actually." I smirked at him and folded my arms.

"What are they?"

"One," He held up one finger, "Go and check on Hinata for me. Sakura told me she hadn't left Neji's room since he got out of the operation room."

"And the second one?" I laughed.

"Take care of Gaara." That one caught me off guard and I cocked my head at him. Gaara had left early on. I knew he wasn't to keen on showing emotion and the only thing Naruto and I were doing was showing emotion. Laughing, crying, sighing, and being happy.

"Why do you care about him so much?" I asked a little curious. "He was so intent on killing you. Why aren't you afraid like everyone else?"

"I've been there before. I knew exactly how he was feeling. And now he finally is free from that hell." 

"What do you mean?" I stepped forward slightly. "That's how you saved him?"

"Me?" Naruto shook his head. "It wasn't me. It was you," He pointed at me, "You saved him."

I left soon after that, and I kept my promise. Hinata was sitting in a chair beside Neji's bed, intently watching his chest rise and fall. I watched her though the little window and decided that I was better not to go in. I had check on her and knew for certain that there was no way that she was going to leave Neji's side until he woke up.

_**(End Flashback)**_

I smiled to myself as I tiptoed over to the bedside table where the vase of flowers sat. From my bag I took out the flower I had gotten from Ino. A yellow and purple Aster. I slipped the flower in the vase with the others, but topped it off with a little note I had written.

Hinata woke with a start. The slight 'click' of a closing door roused her from her dreamless sleep. Her white eyes scanned the room, almost fearful of what she might find. They landed heavily on the vase of flowers and saw that one more had been added. She rose from her chair slowly and approached the flower as if it were her opponent. She took it in her hand carefully and studied it. It was just a flower...and a note. She pulled the note off the flower and placed it back in the water with the others. Carefully she opened the note and her eyes scanned the messy and rushed writing.

**"Dear Hinata,"**

I ran back down the stairs and back to my group.

"You done yet?" Kankurou asked. I nodded quickly and looked back up at the hospital.

"Let's go then." Temari said and the 4 of us walked back towards the entrance.

**"I wanted to tell you that what I said yesterday was wrong. I don't know if Neji were brave or not, because...I don't know Neji. But from what I saw...he didn't have to be brave, because he was determined. After talking to you I saw things in a new light and I felt obliged to go back and fix my mistake," **

Finally we passed under the large gate and entered the forest. I turned back often, wondering if it would be the last time I saw this beautiful village.

"Come on Daagana. You're going the speed of a snail." Temari cried. She was already getting small and I ran to catch up with them.

**"Don't be afraid to face the struggles of life, because that's what makes it worth while. That's why fighting for a cause gives someone so much passion. Because they know that people are there t back them up. Even through the hard times. Hard times being those like these. Yes, Neji could have died, but here's the fun part. You can't be afraid of that. You can't be afraid of death because then...Then you'd be exactly like Orochimaru himself-"**

Hinata didn't have to read any further to know whom this note was from. She leapt from her chair and out the door as fast as she could. She hopped down the steps 2 at a time as she exited the hospital. She tore through the streets until the village gate came into view. Off in the distance, she could make out the silhouette of 4 figures. She silently prayed for there safety as she held the note close to her chest.

"That is my way of the ninja." She whispered to herself. This would be her way.

I looked back just once more, and saw what I was hoping to see. A lone figure stood at the gates entrance. Just standing...and watching. I turned and waved my arms in the air in one final good-bye. 'It's not forever.' I told myself as I turned back to my group. 'I'll see them again.'

And that was the last time I looked back.

My good fortune didn't last as long as I would have hoped. By the time we reached the edge of the forest it was already sun down and Gaara hadn't even looked at me the. While we walked Temari had tried to start coversations with me, but my short open ended answers soon discouraged her.

My main emotion at the time was confusion. I just couldn't wrap my mind around why Gaara was so mad at me. I didn't start the fight...I didn't end it either. What puzzled me to no end was why he wouldn't believe me. I was his teammate, his companion, his friend, his lov-

I stopped myself from going that far. No way on earth was I going to get my hopes up for something like that. Something that would never happen...

I brought up the rear as we all walked in single file. Gaara led us and behind him was a very concerned Temari. She would glance back at me from time to time with that worried expression of hers.

Behind her was Kankurou who, like always, didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He just waltzed on with his hands behind his head without a care in the world...Maybe not. Kiba was in the hospital, of course he cared. But he was too blinesided to care about the situation at hand.

And of course, I was behind him, wallowing in my own self pity.

By the time we pitched our makeshift tent and set up camp the sun, that I didn't have time to watch set, had already set. We camped at the very edge of the forest, the desert on one side, and the forest on the other. Same with my heart. Life on one side, death on the other. And that was surly going to be my fate when we arrived home.

I just couldn't wait to see what Giia thought. Of course Giia. I had spent so much time around Temari and Hiniku that I acctualy forgot about her. Forgot about her for pete's sake! I had forgot about my mother, and the abuse that she inflicted, and the torment she put me though...and it was the best time of my life. I went on a mission! I met new people! I met Naruto...

I curled up in a little ball beside Temari as we all settled in for the night. The thin blanket the covered me wasn't doing it's job very well and I shivered.

"Here." Temari leaned over and spread another blanket over me. "Packed one just in case." She smiled at me. I tried to smile back...but I wasn't really in the mood to smile.

"Good night Daagana." She said and rolled back over.

"Night Gana." Kankurou waved from the other side of Temari.

"...night..." I whispered.

Gaara leaned up against a tree beside the tent. He wasn't in the mood to say good night. His plan was already beginning to shred his heart in pieces. It was obvious Daagana was falling into a pit of depression because of his neglect towards her. But he couldn't help himself. He didn't want her to be a ninja so bad it made his heart ach. He couldn't stand her being in the field because he knew that he couldn't stand her getting hurt. It would kill him...literally. She lay in a ball beside his sister with an extra blanket, that wasn't doing much. Gaara felt that she wasn't really cold...it was just another thing for her to put in between them. He grimiced openly. He didn't know if he could take another day of this torture he was putting himself through. Was it worth this?! He had clearly seen that she could hold her own and save herself...but Gaara always thought that was his job. What was he to do if she could save herself?

When I closed my eyes, all I could see was the darkness looming in every corner of my mind. It loomed on my life, on my feelings, on my thoughts, on my situation and...on my faith in myself. From my own experience, looming darkness was never a good sign. Because you can't see in the dark, it blinds you AND your decisions. I never understood those who enjoyed the dark. Those like Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke. How could they live like that? So far away from the light and warmth of...anything. Of course, when I thought about it...Gaara once lived in darkness. I opened my eyes and looked out to where he had been sitting, only to find he had vanished. I sighed and laid my head back down. Perhaps...he was still in that darkness.

I shot up in my bed. My head was spinning and my eyes wouldn't focus.

"What the..." I whispered and I held my head in my hands until my world fell still. I looked up again and scanned my surroundings. Suddenly a strange feeling hit me. Something was out there in the darkness...and it was watching me. By the black sky I coulds safely say I had fallen asleep. But for a ninja, sleep wasn't really safe. It only meant that you were vonerable, and easy for picking.

We had attached the tarp to 3 trees that had grown close together. It stood over me and shrouded me in shadows. Temari lay beside me, clearly unaware of any danger, but I knew something was out there.

I stood slowly, trying not to make a sound as I stepped easily over our camp and out from under the cover of the tarp. Milky moonlight shot down at me through the branches of the tall trees. They stood huge and forbidding as I wandered farther and farther from the safety of the camp.

A sudden though occurred to me as I lost sight of the camp completley. It might be Gaara...I stopped short and swollowed the lump in my throat. But if it was Gaara...why did I have such a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach?

I forced myself to keep going. One foot after another in any direction they wished to go. Tree after tree, shadow after shadow...eventually they all looked the same.

Temari shifted on her mat. The night was colder then she had exspected.

"Daagana...can I have that blanket back?"She mumbled as she turned her way. No answer.

"Daaga-" Temari's eyes tiredly slipped open and revealed the empty pallet beside her.

"Daagana!" She said alarmed. She scanned over their camp and found her friend gone.

"Holy crap!" She cried. She turned and shook Kankurou viciously.

"Kankurou! Get up! She's gone!" Kankurou easily smacked Temari's hands away and rolled back over. Temari lifted up the flap of Kankurou's hat and screamed in his ear, "Daagana Is Missing!!"

Alarmed, Kankurou jumped about a foot in the air.

"What happened? What's going on?" He said as he crawled around on all fours. Temari sighed to herself and rubbed her forehead.

"Daagana, as I said 3 times already, is gone." Temari said a bit more calmy.

"So is Gaara." Kankurou added and pointed to the spot he had been sitting. Temari could truthfully say she hadn't noticed his absence.

"This is bad!" She jumped to her feet.

"Aw! Come on Temari," Kankurou said and laid back down, "They're probobly of making out somewhere." He waved it off as if it were nothing.

"They haven't even held hands!" Temari cried.

"What if she's in danger?" That was definatly enough to get Kankurou up. He jumped from his pallet and grabbed his puppets and his shoes.

"That was quick." Temari said in disbelief. She had never seen him move so fast!

"Come on!" Kankurou grabbed her hand and off they went into the darkness.

I glanced around at the darkness, with a calm deminour that I didn't mean to have. For some strange reason...I wasn't afraid of whatever was out there...for the time being at least. I still didn't know what it was. My thoughts went right back to peace. What was that saying again? There is always calm before the storm? Something like that. Same thing with peace. Peace and calm were the same thing...right? Theres always peace before a war. That much makes sense.

I quickly found something to be afraid of. If I got to confident I wouldn't be able to be alert. I would get cockey, and frankly, out here in the woods at the darkest part of the night, cocky wasn't what I wanted to be. Neither was a midnight snack. I shook my head and placed my hand on a tree to steady myself. My eyes snapped open as the tree I had placed my hand on grabbed my wrist and began to pull me in! It was eating me alive! A tree-Huh? A tree was eating me alive?

Hold up...

Gaara sat under a large tree with its branches hanging down to the ground. An old willow that seemed to be begging for someone to sit in it. The peace and quiet was just what his aching heart was asking for. Some place he could be still for a while and just not think about-

"Daagana's Gone!" Gaara nearly fell off his branch as Temari and Kankurou came sprinting up out of the darkness. Gaara's sudden calm shattered and his not so Kazekage like panic started to bubble towards the surface.

"What do you mean she's gone?" He hissed and stood.

"I woke up and she was gone! So were you! You were gone too and...and-" Temari stampered.

"You and Daagana were gone...Bottom line, you're here but Daagana is not." Kankurou said and crossed his arms. "Where is she?"

"Why would I know?" Gaara said, taken aback that his siblings were blaming him.

"Are you kidding!" Temari cried. She threw herself forward and grabbed Gaara's shoulders and shook them hard.

"I knew there was something going on! What happened? What did you do to her? Why wouldn't you talk, look, and even breath the same air as each other?!"

Both boys stared at their sister. She was breathing rather hard, and his knuckles were white from shaking Gaara. Gaara on the other hand, wasn't to happy about the shaking. Some sand founds is way out and surrounded Temari's arms. Gently at first until the pressure made her release him. She jumped back quickly as the sand drew back.

"What happened between you and Daagana?" Temari said quieter. "What in the world could have happened?" Gaara turned to face the night sky as an eary wind blew at his hair.

"Villagers attacked her." Gaara said quietly. Both Temari and Kankurou gasped.

"K-Konoha Villagers?" Kankurou stuttered.

"Yes. Shortly after she left Inuzuka Kiba's hospital room." Kankurou lowered his head. She was attacked right after he had seen her leave in such a mess of confusion.

"Gaara...It's my fault-"

"That may be true," Gaara cut his brother off, "But I watched her fight." Temari cocked her head to the side and studdied her little sibling.

"You think she ruined the mission?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"No," Gaara shook his head, "But I concluded that Baki would..."

"Take away her rank." Kankurou finished for him. Temari's jaw went slack as she heard Gaara's plan.

"...Did you plan this?"

"No." Gaara turned back to them. "I had no intention of this until I saw that the villagers were the ones who started the conflict."

"You...want him..." Kankurou had a hard time forming the words. "You want him to take away her rank? You don't want Daagana to be a ninja?"

"No..." Gaara bent his head. "She gets in so much trouble." He whispered, half to himself.

"But that's why we made her a ninja!" Temari cried. "If she's not a ninja she has to stay in the village! With Giia!"

"...They called her suna kuzu...sand trash." Gaara closed his eyes as the memory hit him. Temari's anger lessened as she saw the pain on Gaara's face. It was the first real emotion she had seen since they got back from the raid.

"It's about killed you hasn't it?" Temari asked softly. "Making her think you're mad at her." Gaara's eyes closed in shame. Temari heaved a sigh, and nodded her head.

"Alright." Gaara and Kankurou both looked at her and were both surprised to see the smirk on her face.

"What is it Temari?" Kankurou asked.

"Well," She said, "It's obvious that Gaara is desperatly in love with Daagana. So we'll have to just help him out." Gaara looked at his sister like she was crazy.

"How?"

"First and foremost...we find her. The rest will come later."

"Agreed." Kankurou steached out his hand. Temari placed her's on top and they both looked at Gaara. He looked back and just by his expression told them that they were crazy.

But he still put his hand in.

"Alright. Operation: Find Gana! A-Rank! Let's go boys!" Temari cried and went off running down the hill. Both were right at her heels. 

Once again, Gaara found himself searching for Daagana. Not that he actually enjoyed it, but he seemed to be doing it a lot lately. Temari had gone back to search the campsite, and Kankurou was somewhere on the other side of the woods. All were looking for that one piece of evidence that would tell them were she went...

Why would she leave?!

Gaara pounded his fist at a tree near by. He didn't do much to the giant oak, and that didn't make him feel any better. It occurred to him that he was a weakling without that stupid raccoon-dog that was stuck in his stomach. His mind turned on him as he thought about Naruto. Was he a weakling? Would he be if he didn't have the Kyuubi? Surely not.

_**!Day Break!**_

"It's hopeless. Where did she go?" Kankurou slumped down at the base of a tree in their campsite.

"I don't understand either. I knew that she thought you were mad at her," Temari said to Gaara, "But she wouldn't just run away. She's not that weak."

The three ninja searched all night and still wouldn't find a trace of Daagana anywhere.

"It's been hours. She could be miles away by now. And we still have a mission to complete." Temari sighed.

"No." Gaara suddenly snapped. "We're not leaving until we find her." Both siblings looked at him sadly.

"But we have to. We still have to report the mission to Baki, and check on the village. You're gonna be Kazekage remember? You need to look to the village's safety as well as Daagana's-"

"Don't tell me what I already know!" Gaara snapped at his sister. "I know my place as the Kazekage of the sand, but I also know my place-"

"As Daagana's lover." Kankurou finished for him. Gaara glared over at him either for finishing his sentence or for stating the obvious, Kankurou didn't know.

"Come on Gaara. We all know you love her." Kankurou stood and gestured towards his brother. "You can't be ashamed of it."

"I am not." Gaara said and straightened. Obviously he felt threatened that Kankurou had seen his feelings so easily.

"Gaara, you wear your heart on your sleeve now. Better yet, you HAVE one now." Temari said and placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "I understand that you want to find her, fall to your knees before her and apologize..." Temari imagined the sight and almost laughed.

"What are you smiling at Temari?" Kankurou asked and interrupted her daydream.

"Nothing...Anyway," Temari said and looked over at Gaara who was eyeing her like an idiot, "We know you love her. Bottom line, your love is important. Bottom line, so is the village."

Gaara's head swirled with the decision. He knew that his siblings expected him to decide, but his heart and mind were battling.

"And if it helps..." Kankurou said, "We'll follow you no matter what you decide."

That struck home for Gaara as he looked back and forth between his two devoted siblings. Never had he seen their devotion to him until now.

He made his decision.

"We go back to the village. We account for the mission, then come back and find her."

Temari and Kankurou nodded in agreement. Gaara was coming around. What a great Kazekage he was going to be.

_**) Next Day (**_

The sands of the desert rose up in Temari's face as they walked along a dune.

"Just over that crest." She said back to her brothers. Just over the crest was home. Before...Temari had never considered it her home. Never had it seemed so...welcoming. She caught herself missing people like Hiniku and Baki. Baki for goodness sake! It had to be something when you missed your short-tempered sensei with only half a face.

Still, Temari paced herself, at the expense of Gaara. She didn't want to show him she was eager to be home. Especially since Daagana had up and gone of somewhere, Temari didn't want him thinking she didn't care about her.

Truth be told, Daagana was part of the family. Ever since she had come to live with the after Giia set fire to the poor side, Temari saw that Gaara and Daagana had gotten quite close. So close that Temari was sure she was finally going to have a sister. All good things must come to an end...But not this! Why did it have to be this?

Kankurou pulled up the rear of the line as they braved the final crest. He and Temari had smartly placed Gaara between them, in case he got to ambitious and went ahead, or wallowed in depression and fell behind. So far he had attempted both more then once, and more then once Kankurou had to face his fading fear of his little brother. Distinction of fading. Gaara was a human being, Kankurou could see that now. All those years of not being able to look him in the eyes must have done some real damage and Kankurou was only beginning to see the dent he made in Gaara's armor. It was a deep hole that Kankurou had embedded in Gaara's heart when...when his own brother wouldn't look at him out of shame.

Kankurou bent his head openly as they approached home. The same thoughts had been running through his mind the whole time and he couldn't help but wonder...was it to late to apologize?

Gaara's mind was frozen. Half because he was afraid of the things he would think of, and half because he was afraid of the things he wouldn't think about, such as: The safety of the village. He knew that if his siblings hadn't been a step ahead of him he would be back in that forest right now, looking for something that obviously wasn't there.

He knew by the way Temari held herself that she was eager to get home. Also when he looked back at Kankurou, Gaara could by the way his head was bent that he was having some issues of his own.

All three weren't even paying attention when they passed through the gates of their own home.

"Gaara!" Baki came running up. "You are a day late. What is the meaning of this?" But Gaara wasn't in the mood to answer.

"Daagana's gone missing." Temari said.

"Daagana? She arrived here yesterday." Baki said.


	9. Whoops! We Gotta Find Her Now!

"What do you mean she arrived yesterday?" Temari seethed. Baki stood confused in front of his students.

"She arrived yesterday at about midnight and reported to me. She gave me no explanation for your late arrival." Baki stood very straight, and eyed each of them.

He had known these Genin since they were children, and he had watched them grow into the Shinobi that they were now. He could almost say he had raised them, but then again he wasn't very proud of how Gaara had turned out until recently. There was no denying that this ramen girl had changed him somehow.

What was more trouble was that he had to be the one that told them of what else Daagana said. His expression turned grave, as he thought of what this news could do to Gaara. Not even could do...Would do.

"There's more, isn't there?" Kankurou asked darkly. He could tell by the expression on Baki's face that there was something else. Something far worse then Daagana just ditching them.

"I'm afraid so. Gaara..." Baki turned and addressed him, "Daagana returned her headband to me."

At first the full effect didn't hit Gaara. So, she returned her headband, no big deal.

"She gave up being a ninja?" Kankurou asked astonished.

"On her own?" Temari chocked out. Both siblings looked cautiously over at Gaara. That's...when it hit.

"She WHAT?" Gaara roared. The ground beneath the Shinobis' feet shifted violently.

"Gaara! Calm yourself!" Baki ordered. Gaara's rage was clearly visible in his eyes, but the earth stilled.

Temari eyed her brother. She could tell that he wasn't going to take this very well.

"Where is she?" Temari asked, turning back to Baki.

"I do not keep track of her." Baki snorted.

"Where is she!" Temari shouted. She knew full well that like Kankurou and her, Baki had taken extra care to keep track of Giia and Daagana. They all had a mutual goal that was very hard to accomplish: Make Gaara Happy. So far it wasn't going to well.

Baki sighed in defeat. Perhaps his attempts to not care about the girl were over whelmed by pride. Yes, Baki admitted, he was overly proud of his students. And even more of Gaara when he was elected to become the next Kazekage. But when he dug deeper, he found that not only had Gaara changed...He had help. There was that stupid fellow from Konoha with the yellow hair, and of course the ramen girl. Both had helped him...progress towards their main goal.

And right about now, that was all falling apart.

"She went to her ramen bar." Baki said.

"Did she say anything else?" Gaara demanded. This was to be expected, Temari thought. He was cracking, and when Temari looked over at Kankurou, they both were thinking the same thing. They had no way of saving him this time. Not that they helped any last time, but this time they were more then willing...and they had to hurry up and wait. Life sucks like that sometimes.

"Daagana!" Hiniku cried. Daagana rounded the corner into the ramen bar. Hiniku ran around the counter, but stopped short. She noticed that Daagana kept her head down, and her steps short. Hiniku immediately forgot all the questions she was going to ask, and stepped in front of her friend.

"Gana, what's wrong?" She chose wisely and didn't approach her just yet. This had happened once before.

It was back in the first couple of weeks Daagana worked at the ramen bar. She came in for her shift with the same posture that she held now. When Hiniku asked what was wrong, Daagana simply said she had to quit. Back then Hiniku had no idea what Giia was capable of, and she was ignorant to the fact that Daagana wasn't kidding when she said her mom was gonna kill her.

Hiniku could tell that the same memory was running though Daagana's mind.

"Is this the same thing?" Hiniku asked. Daagana lifted her head, and looked her friend in the eye.

"No," she said and turned towards the entrance, "It's much worse."

"We have to hurry." Temari said as the 3 rushed down the streets of the Sand Village.

"There it is!" Kankurou cried and pointed to the ramen shop that was quickly approaching.

"Daaga-...Hiniku?" Temari stopped mid-cry as she saw Hiniku sitting on a barstool. She was clutching something...

"Is that a spatula?" Kankurou pointed out. Hiniku's only response was a soft sob and a loud gulp.

"Where is Daagana?" Gaara approached Hiniku without much thought for her situation. "Where is-"

"Will you please just shut up!" Hiniku suddenly cried. Gaara reeled back quickly at the sudden outburst. "Why would I be here if I knew where she was?" Hiniku sobbed. Watery streaks fell down her cheeks in waterfalls. She clutched the metal spatula with all her might and held it close to her. "Do you think I would just sit here and let her go?"

Temari quickly advanced forward and placed an arm around Hiniku.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"She quit." Hiniku said simply and broke. Her spirit and perhaps her mind, snapped, and the siblings knew that she couldn't say anymore on the subject.

Kankurou watched as Temari rocked Hiniku back and forth while she sobbed into her shirt.

"Gaara," Kankurou turned to see his brother fuming, "She's not here. We need to check the poor side. Giia could be-"

"I know what Giia could be doing." Gaara snapped. He shook his head and looked back at Hiniku.

"But we cannot deny the obvious. Daagana came here out of her own will. She gave back her headband on her own. She came here and quit on her-"

"You don't really believe that do you?" Kankurou cried. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the front of Gaara's shirt. He gave his little brother a good shake before he looked him square in the eye.

"You. Love. Her. Don't you dare try to deny it. She makes you happy. She makes us all happy! We're happy because you are happy! She's part of the family, Gaara. You can't believe she left because she wanted to. You can't believe that Giia had nothing to do with this," Kankurou slowly let go of Gaara's shirt, "If you believe that..." Kankurou backed away slowly, "I don't think you could have changed at all."

The wood floor of my poor side home was cold and welcoming to my burning face. I pressed my face as close to the floor as I could get and sprawled out. The little furniture we had was now all gone due to the beating Giia had just given me. Even for a woman with only minimal training...I couldn't stand up.

While I was I the forest, Giia had miraculously appeared out of nowhere and sucked me into a genjutsu. It was...quite a pitiful jutsu, and I was perfectly capable of breaking it. Only problem was I had no idea who had cast it. Therefore, I stayed put. In the genjutsu I was trapped in a box. Just a regular box...made of wood.

I guess that was the best Giia could come up with. Being the absent-minded parent that she was, she obviously didn't know that I WASN'T claustrophobic. So...I pretty much stayed in my little box until I woke up on my pallet in my house, in the poor side. Oh, and my headband was gone. I think that catches things up.

"Pitiful, pitiful Daagana." Giia taunted as she circle me like a buzzard. "Don't you realize that you can't beat me?"

"Don't you realize," I struggled to say due to my fat bloody lip, "That I haven't been fighting back?" That was the only fact that I couldn't seem to put through her head. I wasn't fighting back. I didn't deserve to be punished!

Giia sent her foot down into my face with a nice solid kick.

"Not fighting back?" Giia said as she rubbed her foot in my cheek. I couldn't really feel it since I had lost all feeling in the left side of my body, and my right side was well on its way.

"Where have you been the last 3 days? How about the last couple of weeks?" Giia spat a glob of spit at my face.

"You call frolicking around with the Kazekage not fighting back? You stupid, stupid girl!" Her foot collided with my stomach and I rolled over on my back. To bad my stomach still had feeling. I groaned, as a small bead of blood rolled down from the corner of my mouth.

"When will you learn?" Giia asked herself as she bent down beside me. She grabbed hold of a fistful of hair and yanked up so I was looking at her. Personally I wished she would have pulled my hair out. Anything was better then having to look at her while you speak to her.

"I am going to marry the Kazekage, and you will be my servant." She scoffed, and then smirked. "No different then you are now."

I muted a scream as she pulled my head up then slammed it back into the wood floor. Blood pooled around the hole that was now present in my skull.

That pain...didn't even come close to the feeling of my heart breaking. My heart shattered into a million sharp edged pieces that pierced my insides, my soul. I cried out, and finally emptied my soul right there on the floor.

She had finally done it.

She had broken me.

Temari continued to rock Hiniku silently. She didn't want to interrupt Kankurou who, for once in his life, was on a role. Still…the way he said what he said was what surprised her. He said Gaara hadn't changed at all like he almost believed it. But of course it wasn't true since Gaara was in fact a new person. Kankurou couldn't honestly believe…

Just for the occasion she tossed the idea around in her mind. Then it hit her.

What Kankurou said was actually true! If Gaara wouldn't admit that he loved Daagana, and refused to go get her, then he was surely condemning her to die. Then they would be right back where they started. A 6-year-old Gaara on a rooftop beside the body of Yashamaru. Only this time, it would be Daagana. Either way, Gaara would be alone again. And she doubted even Naruto could fix it this time.

Temari didn't want to go back there.

Not again.

Gaara stood motionless. Could it be true that he hadn't changed at all? But…He had tried to hard to change. Ever since the raid, changing had been his goal. He wanted so deeply to be like Naruto who had friends and passion. He wanted to laugh and smile and to be able to show any emotion beside anger. But if he hadn't changed…how much closer was he to his goal?

"Please don't tell me you're just gonna stand there!" Kankurou cried. "What is she dies? Huh? What then!" He through his arms in the air.

"I don't fear death!" Gaara cried desperately.

It was true he didn't fear death. For his whole life he had become the living death and it was all he could do to keep from fearing himself.

"We know you don't fear DEATH Gaara," Temari soothed, "But are you willing to LIVE without her?"

Hiniku peeked up from Temari's shoulder. The sand siblings sure do put up a good argument. Hiniku could already tell that Gaara was coming around. Despite how hard he tried, you could always read his emotions in his eyes, even when he didn't know it.

"No…" Gaara said as if it had just dawned on him. No, he couldn't live without her. And 'heck no!' would he live without her!

"When will you learn?" Giia roared as I collided with the wall, then fell back to the ground with a thud. I was crying my heart out and was passed caring what Giia thought about it. I wanted to cry…so I cried.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Giia asked as she advanced towards me. I scooted away as best I could but she caught me by my bloody hair.

"What? Did you honestly think he had feelings for you?" She laughed. It was a triumphant laugh, on that said she had claimed her victory.

"Believe me honey! He doesn't love you at all."

I gasped for air. It felt like my throat was closing and no air was getting through. She continued to say things like that.

'He didn't love you.' Or 'How could he love a peasant like you?' And 'He just pitied you because you were poor.' And last 'He never even liked you!'

They all seemed to cause a part of me to shut down. Last to go was my stubborn pride.

"Stop!" I screamed. Even to my own ears I heard my voice crack with anguish. A fresh wave of tears burned at the back of my eyes as I screamed. "You can have him! Just please stop!"

Slowly her fingers slipped out of my bloody hair and she took a step back. I could feel her stare on me as I recoiled and curled up into a little ball.

"Now that's what I wanted to hear." Giia chuckled and then I heard her walk away.

"How much further?" Gaara asked uneasily. He and Kankurou tore through the poor side for something that looked like Daagana's house. Temari had stayed back to take Hiniku to the hospital and was going to meet them later.

"I don't remember what her house looks like man! Last time I saw it, it was on fire!" Kankurou returned.

Gaara rounded a corner and slowed. He let out an irritated sigh. He had been at this corner already. Suddenly to his left he heard a cloud crash.

"What was that?" Kankurou called from behind him. Gaara was already on his way to the hut where the noise came from.

It was obviously one roomed and had one window that was covered with drape. The door was simply made of a cheap piece of wood and as Gaara advanced, the wood stood no chance. He punched right through the door and flung the scrap away for him to see inside. Needless to say it wasn't what he was expecting.

Kankurou came up behind his brother quickly and looked over his shoulder.

"Holy Crap!" He cried. Before him was a man and a woman…going at it on their kitchen floor.

"Holy Crap!" Kankurou cried again. Quickly his brotherly instincts kicked in and he covered Gaara's eyes with his hand.

"Sorry about that." He said to the man and woman, who hadn't even noticed the break in and continued to…do it on their floor.

Kankurou dragged Gaara back out to the road and gasped.

"That was gross!" He cried and laughed like a mad man. He looked over at Gaara who had an eyebrow cocked.

"What were they doing?" Gaara asked. Kankurou fell to the ground and twitched. There was no way he had to be the one to tell his little brother about the birds and the bees.

You can't really say I fell asleep...More like passed out. Due to the concussion and the massive blood loss, and the other injuries that I had sustained from Giia's wonderful parenting. But I was dreaming! At least that part f my brain still worked...

I was in this big grassy field, running and twirling and laughing. All things I had been deprived of during childhood. Not that I wasn't still a child, and not that I didn't laugh. But never like I did in that dream. I was so happy and carefree you could see it etched on my features.

I galloped around the big grassy plain that I could have sworn was somewhere near Konoha. I mean, where else could you feel THIS free? And where else could you see THIS much green grass?

Ah, Konoha. It seemed like such a long time since I was there, even though it had only been a couple of days. I already wanted to go back, and see what happened to Hinata, and talk to Naruto some more.

Wait...What in the-

"Daagana...Wake up." Someone said. It was a deep male voice that I didn't recognize.

"No..." I mumbled as my grassy field faded into darkness. "Konoha..." Was gone.

"We need to get her to the hospital now." The medical ninja informed Gaara. After he and Kankurou's little sex-ed adventure, Temari had arrived and shed some light on their situation. Since she had been to Daagana's house before, she led them, and a team of Medical-nin right to it.

"She doesn't have a high chance of survival, she's lost too much blood." The medical-nin said as he went about his work.

Kankurou rummaged though some of the broken walls and cracked floorboards, but found no trace of Giia. Just blood. Lots and lots of Daagana's blood.

Temari watched as the medical team took samples from each pool of blood on the floor. There were at least six pools. Six pools meant six placed Daagana laid as Giia beat her. Evidence of six places were she suffered, and six chances she had to fight back...Temari still couldn't figure it out. From the very first time she saw Giia harm Daagana, the same stupid question had been running through her head: Why wouldn't she fight back? Why wouldn't she protect herself against a punishment she didn't deserve? A punishment no one should ever deserve.

Gaara knew better...But at the moment it didn't matter. He blamed himself. A thousand times over he said it was his fault. If he hadn't let his mind wander for that split second, he wouldn't have hesitated to go after her. Now...Look at her.

Two medical-nin loaded Daagana onto a stretcher. They were working as fast as they could, but to Gaara, they were taking their sweet time about it. See that...How could he not blame himself?

Considering that the medical-nin had to pick up pieces of Daagana's skull up off the ground, Kankurou thought they were making good time...Just not good enough. At any moment Daagana's heart could stop beating, and if that happened there was a fair chance Gaara's would stop as well. That or he would go crazy and the Shukaku would kill everyone. Either way, the outcome wasn't very pleasant.

Moments later the medical team finished their work and hurried out with Daagana on her stretcher. Temari quickly followed, but as Kankurou went to go, he looked back and noticed Gaara hadn't moved at all.

"Gaara give it up." Kankurou said sadly. He and his brother stood on a cliff that overlooked the sea of sand. The sun was beginning to set and his little brother looked like he was loosing all hope.

"I don't want to say this..." He said as he stared at his brother's back. He sighed, "The village only thinks of you as a menacing weapon."

Gaara didn't answer, so Kankurou continued.

"You'll have a really hard time if you leave us and join a regular squad. The higher-ups don't think much of you. And most of the villagers are still terrified of you."

"I know." Gaara said quietly. Kankurou looked up at his brother surprised.

"I know, but just sitting around and waiting will only cause more fear and suffering." Gaara continued. Kankurou looked on in awe at his little brother.

"In order to escape a path of loneliness, I have no choice but to work hard and make my own path."

"If I do that, then someday..." Gaara's eyes turned to the setting sun,

"Someday...I can be like him." Kankurou cocked his head, mouth still agape. Who was he talking about?

"That's why, as a Shinobi of the sand," Gaara said, "I'll aim to be the Kazekage. So I can live a life connected to my village."

Kankurou quietly said his brother's name. Was this really his little brother? The one he had fear all his life?

"I want to work hard so that others will accept my existence. That's what I thought when I looked at Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara said. Kankurou understood who he was talking about now. He watched his brother talk a couple of steps forward towards the fading horizon.

"Up until now, my bonds with others have only been ones of hatred and murder. But, seeing him fight so hard made me wonder what a bond really is...I think I understand a little now."

Kankurou felt his heart melt as he listened to his brother's words.

"Suffering, sadness...and joy. To be able to share it with another person..."

Kankurou nodded his head in agreement. It was all true. Everything Gaara said was true as the sun setting before them.

"Uzumaki Naruto. When I fought him, I feel that is what he taught me. He experienced the same type of suffering as I. And he taught me that you can change how you live your life."

"Someday, I want my existence to be necessary to others. Not as a weapon to be feared," Gaara slowly turned to his brother, who was looking at him with such sincerity, "But as the Hidden Village of the Sand's Kazekage." Finally Kankurou spoke.

"Your existence is necessary Gaara. To Daagana, you are the only thing she has left."

It was well after sundown by the time Temari's brothers entered the hospital. She was trying to get Daagana's boss from the ramen shop to settle down in the hallway when they entered. Kankurou had a simple smirk on his face and Gaara was emotionless as always. But Temari could tell that emotionless was a good thing.

"Excuse me." She said to Daagana's Ojiisan and hurried over to the boys. She wasted no time on telling them the news.

"Daagana's condition has stabilized."

Gaara let out the breath he had been holding since they entered the hospital. She was all right.

For the time being...Kankurou thought.

"But we have a couple more problems." Temari sighed. She put one hand on her hip and pinched the bridge of her nose with the other.

"What else could go wrong?" Kankurou whined.

"Hiniku went into shock." Temari answered. "The minute we brought in Daagana she started to puke."

"That's not shock," Kankurou corrected, "That's a weak stomach."

"Kankurou you don't know what you're talking about." Temari hissed. "When a person goes into shock, their body begins to convulse."

"Convulse?" Kankurou cocked an eyebrow.

"Shake uncontrollably." Gaara answered for him.

"Right," Temari nodded, "Hiniku went into shock, before she saw Daagana's body. She wasn't responsive and convulsed. When Daagana arrived, that's when the puking started."

"So...She still has a weak stomach." Kankurou crossed his arms and pouted. Temari, being the protective big sister figure that she was, smacked him to the ground. She put her foot on his back so he couldn't get up, and started to address Gaara.

"She's gonna be okay, but..."

"But what?" Gaara asked, ignoring his brother's cry for help.

"Her grandfather needs help in his ramen shop. With both Daagana and Hiniku in the hospital, his shop could go under." Temari looked over at the old man she had left further up the hallway. He was sitting on a padded bench outside his granddaughter's room. He looked very old, and very tired. Temari suspected that he had followed her when she brought Hiniku in.

"In his...ramen shop?" Kankurou asked from down below. Temari and Gaara both looked down at him, then back up at each other.

It was decided.

Kankurou was gonna be a busboy.


	10. I'm Awake and Guess What? I'm Sad

With Kankurou gone, Temari and Gaara waited outside of Daagana's hospital room in silence. Kankurou had been dragged off by Hiniku's grandfather, and was now currently working at the local ramen shop.

Temari sat on the same padded bench that the old man was sitting on before, and Gaara was leaning against the wall beside her. Neither had said a word since Kankurou was abducted, and that alone caused everything to fall silent. How strange it was to realize now that Kankurou was always to one who did the talking. Usually they say it's the girls who run their mouths.

Gaara wasn't so much surprised that it was silent when Kankurou wasn't around. Those few days when he was in the hospital recovering from his appendix bursting, the mansion had been considerably quiet. Then again, Gaara hadn't really been paying attention since he spent every waking moment beside Daagana.

Ah, those were the happy times. Giia had fallen off the face of the earth, and Daagana was free as a bird. She flitted about the mansion making everyone's day better, and it made Gaara's heart soar. He was a bird right along with her, not the monster everyone else called him. He was-

"Lady Temari, Gaara-sama," A medical-nin stepped out of Daagana's room. He was a plump man, who wore the normal medical rode and cap. Temari sat up straighter and Gaara pulled off the wall.

"As you already know, Daagana's condition has stabilized, but it is still very serious." The ninja began.

"We understand that." Gaara said.

"Yes, well...We reconstructed her skull and healed all the breaks in and fractures in her skeletal system. But there is something else that concerns us."

"What would that be?" Temari pressed.

"She has a curse seal, and it has been activated."

Temari sat back silently. A curse seal? She turned to Gaara, but his face didn't show the surprise she thought she'd see. Instead his gaze was steady and his eyes sharp.

"It's been activated for a long time." Gaara whispered. Temari jumped to her feet and stared at her bother.

"You knew?" She cried. Gaara nodded solemnly.

"Hiniku informed me when I helped dig her out of the fire." Gaara said. The medical-nin stared on as Temari's face held it's disbelief.

"That would explain the markings we found." Both siblings turned to him.

"What markings?" Temari asked. Gaara too wanted to know what he was talking about.

"She has a mark on her upper arm indicates that the Jun Chi Noroi ((Obedient Blood Curse)) was placed on her." Temari glanced over at Gaara who looked like he was hearing the information for the first time.

"What? Hiniku not tell you everything?" She taunted.

"No." Gaara snapped. "She didn't."

"But the thing that bothered us," the man said, "was the outcome. The Jun Chi Noroi is a killing curse, but she's not dead." Temari shook her head slowly.

"Giia must have not been able to fully complete the curse." She sighed.

"Incomplete curses are the most terrible." The man quickly informed them.

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"Because, if the curse is incomplete there's no telling what could have gone on in Daagana's body." Temari answered for him. "In other words...They don't know what's wrong with her."

Temari already knew Gaara wasn't going to talk the news very well, so she sent the medical man away with the wave of her hand. He bowed to both of them then scurried off to his duties. Temari seated herself and waited for Gaara to breath again. Needless to say he's stopped taking oxygen when the words 'don't know' left her mouth. She restrained herself from looking over at him and instead found great interest in the wall in front of her. She knew well enough that if she looked at him then she'd be tempted to say something and frankly...anything could set him off at this point.

Meanwhile at the ramen shop, Kankurou had involuntarily donned an apron and was misusing a spatula. Ojiisan peeked over his shoulder at his new help and saw that he was performing his duties incorrectly. So with the speed of a ninja, stalked over to the puppeteer and smacked his own spatula on Kankurou's hand.

"Ouch!" Kankurou yelped.

"You ain't doin' it right! The evenen' rush's comen' in and they gonna complain about the service." Ojiisan accused and shook his spatula at Kankurou.

"Maybe it was this guy who abused Daagana and not Giia." Kankurou mumbled to himself and rubbed his sore hand.

_** Back at the Hospital **_

"Gaara..." Temari whispered as she stared at her brother. He sat down beside her after a few moments and held his head in his hands. Temari could say she had never seen him like this, but the truth was she had never seen anyone like this. Never had she seen someone so broken and beyond repair, and never has she seen someone in such need of sleep. He just looked so tired...

"Come on Gaara," Temari stood and offered her hand back down to her brother, but he didn't move. "Let's go home." His only response was to heave his shoulders and sigh.

"Okay, not home. The ramen shop to check on Kankurou." She reasoned. Gaara lifted his head slightly.

"But what about Daa-"

"Daagana will still be here. She's not going anywhere." Temari assured him.

"And Hiniku?" Gaara asked as he rested his hands on his knees.

"Same with her. Besides," Temari joked as she pulled him gently to his feet, "She's trapped in the bathroom with her head stuck in the toilet."

Temari put her arm over her brother's shoulder as they left the hospital.

Times were defiantly though, and as a ninja, she knew that time was in no hurry to improve. But _**they always say that time changes things, but you really have to change them yourself. ((Andy Warhd))**_ And that was what Temari was determined to do. Change this for the better. How she would do it...she had NO idea.

Despite what Ojiisan said, Kankurou couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment as the evening crowd dwindled. He had only received a few smacks from the master spatula and none of the customers had seen, so it was all good.

As the last person left, Kankurou tore off hi apron and cheered. He had ultimately survived.

"All hail the busboy..." Ojiisan sighed as Kankurou pranced around.

"So..." Kankurou asked eagerly, "What else do you want me to do?" Ojiisan just

shook his head.

"Nothin'."

"Come on old man! Do you want me to close up for you?"

"Naw, I still gotta anotha customer da serve. He's a regular." He answered. Kankurou cocked an eyebrow. It was probably close to 10:30. Who in their right mind would come to the ramen shop that late? Whoever it was probably didn't sleep or something weird like that...Wait. No way!

"Kankurou!" Temari called as she and Gaara walked into the ramen shop. That was all the proof Kankurou needed.

Gaara had midnight ramen munchies!

Ojiisan burst into laughter when he saw the look on Kankurou's face.

"That's right!" He bellowed and ran around the counter to Gaara. "He come in here most every night!" But Gaara just sighed.

"The usual." He ordered and seated himself at the bar.

'The usual'? Kankurou thought. Gaara had a usual? How weird is that!

Ojiisan quickly went about preparing the ramen while Temari and Kankurou just stared at Gaara.

"First it's Daagana's curse seal, and now you're a regular at a ramen shop!" Temari cried and waved her arms in the air. "What else could you possibly keep from me!"

"You don't want to know." Gaara answered as Ojiisan handed him a bowl of ramen.

"That's understandable." Kankurou said as Temari planted herself on a stool and pouted. "I can see why you wouldn't tell _her_ Gaara," Kankurou said smoothly. Temari glared daggers at him, and Gaara just blew on his ramen. They both knew what was coming next.

"By why wouldn't you tell **ME**!"

Temari groaned.

"Why do you think! I'm the oldest! If he was gonna tell anybody, it would have been me!"

The argument had begun and Gaara knew what would follow. Fighting: First verbal then physical, and who knows who'd win this time. But he was pretty sure he didn't care. His ramen was so much more interesting then his siblings' scrimmages.

"Wait!" Kankurou cried. Temari had him his shirtfront and was rearing back for the punch. "Hold up!" Kankurou pleaded, Temari sighed and put her fist down.

"What?" She asked annoyed. She had just been itching to punch him all day.

"Did I hear something about a curse seal?" Kankurou panted. "Daagana's curse seal?"

Oh, crap...

_** At the Hospital **_

"Has anyone contacted Gaara?" Baki shouted. A frightened team of medical-nin jumped to attention and scrambled around the hallway

Rewind...

The morning after Daagana was brought to the hospital was a relatively tough morning. The moment she awoke, she was bombarded by numerous sand jounin, poking and prodding and asking to many questions. A simple interview they said...more like a simple interrogation. All the ninja were part of the Suna Police, another attempt to be more like Konoha, and all they were doing was trying to figure out who had assaulted her the night before. The idiots weren't being too nice about it either. Going in and treating her like a suspect was no way to get Daagana talking, and she told them that, and then she wouldn't say anything else when they didn't listen.

Finally it came down to Daagana getting very angry with one of the ninja, and throwing him out of her room. With what strength, Baki had no idea. But what he did notice as the ninja struggled with her door, was that she was not the same person that she used to be. Something had changed...something was terribly wrong.

For a guy with only have a face, Baki noticed things. He had watched Daagana carefully ever since Kankurou had slipped up and told him about her. It was back during the raid when He and Temari still hated each other. Kankurou would endlessly taunt her about befriending peasants and after Temari had won the fight _(as usual)_ Kankurou would grumble and eventually tell Baki everything. Baki had always criticized him for being so trusting...but when it came down to it, he was actually happy to be included, despite the hateful look on his face.

After watching Daagana and Gaara get as attached as they did to each other, he took it upon himself to look into the Giia problem. He had heard about her from Daagana's friend Hiniku, who was currently in the hospital in a room a couple doors down. Baki noticed that she was incredibly independent for a girl of her age, and he saw that she could have been a fine ninja. But when he hinted his opinion, she threw the subject wide open and gave him the whole story of why she was so devoted to become a medical-nin instead of the front line ninja she longed to be. What it came down to was: Giia was an abuser, and Daagana needed constant medical attention.

Ever since then Baki had been checking up on the situation. Like with the fire incident. He had taken her in, but had no real evidence to hold her. And like every good ninja, he knew he needed proof before he did anything permanent, and so far, Daagana wasn't helping him at all. All those cuts and bruises couldn't have been made by just slipping and falling. Broken bones, punctured lungs, and cracked skulls were not things you get when you trip over your own to two feet. But she refused to give up her mother, not that Giia deserved the title. Baki seriously didn't understand Daagana's loyalty to the woman... who more like monster then a mother.

And now he couldn't even get to her! After throwing the jounin out of her room, Daagana had locked it from the inside, which was impossible since none of the doors had locks for just this reason. But, she had done it somehow, and by now, Baki was done questioning her limits. It was clear that she had none.

"Do we know how she locked it yet?" Baki asked impatiently. Two ninja were examining the door closely with numerous scrolls rolled out all over the floor.

"No sir-" One man was about to say.

"I found something!" The other shouted before the first man could finish. Baki stumbled over and pushed the jounin out of the way so he could see better.

"What is it?" The other jounin chocked.

"It looks like fire." Baki's brow pinched together as he comprehended the sight.

"Black fire"

The small onyx flame flickered in the crack between the door and it's frame.

"Is that how she locked the door?" Baki asked his men.

"No!" The man who hadn't found anything said, as if something had just dawned on him. "She didn't lock the door! She barricaded it!"

Baki started giving orders from there. Shouting and sending ninja left and right. Get this, get that. Get the guy a coffee while you're at it, sheesh! He continued until several ninja with scrolls were working on neutralizing the jutsu

Finally Baki stood back and shut his mouth. His men were working their fingers to the bone, and Gaara was most likely on his way, so there was little need for anymore screaming.

Baki was only half right. His men were defiantly working to death. It must have been hard trying to seal away something that wasn't even a jutsu. Its like Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke trying to use the Sharigan to copy someone's laughter or smile. This wasn't a jutsu that anyone would use. This was Daagana's incomplete curse and it couldn't be copied no matter the scroll.

But as I said, Baki was only half right. His men were working yeah...but Gaara wasn't coming, and he was nowhere near on his way.

Temari yawned and stretched. It had been awhile since she had slept in. It was always her job to get up early and wake up Daagana, who slept in 'till noon...but things were a little different now. Kankurou had insisted that they stay up with Gaara at the ramen shop. Temari knew he was concerned, but she also knew that he just wanted to eat more ramen. And it was beside the point that Ojiisan still made him pay for it.

Still...they had sat beside him for a good chunk of the night, and only listened to the sound of his uneven breathing.

To her groggy knowledge, he was still right where she had left him. Sitting on the third stool to the right, with a large pot of sake beside him. Temari sighed, now realizing that him drinking was probably not the smartest alternative with depression...but he wasn't killing anyone yet. Perhaps he would even sober up before he went after Giia..._Nah!_ The drunker the better.

_** Hospital **_

Baki quietly seated himself at my bedside. They were being so dang annoying with all the banging on the door that I finally just let them in. Only Baki of course, I let my imagination run wild while keeping the others outside. They were probably screaming in terror at the moment...I was past controlling myself. The darker the better, and I think that's what frightened Baki at first.

He was quite in the beginning and he avoided my glare. Despite the fact that I had let him in, it didn't mean that I wanted him in. I had shut the door behind him, and the door helped in drowning out the screams of the jounin. Don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't hurting them..._yet._

Silence filled the room as I drilled holes in the side of Baki's face. He had ultimately violated my sanctuary, and he had yet to give me a reason. Where else was I going to hide from those privacy prejudice ninja? Plus, where else was I going to hide from Gaara? Yeah, you heard me. Hide from Gaara, screw over Giia. That was my master plan. I didn't know exactly what else I could do at the moment. What? Did you expect me to face my fear? No doubt Gaara was on his way to torment me, and Baki had made it possible for him.

Wrong again Daagana.

"I've noticed," Baki began, "That you aren't yourself." He sat stiffly with his arms crossed and head bent. "And despite that obvious fact," He shrugged like it was no big deal that my world was crumbling! He may have only half a face, but I didn't think he had only half a heart.

"Why won't you give up Giia?" He demanded.

"Why do you care?" I snapped back.

"Because no one should go through what you have lived through all your life." He said in a softer tone.

"No one has. Just me." I retorted.

"So you're giving up? Just like that? Not even bothering to fight?" He shot me a sideways glance.

"Why bother fighting?" I swallowed, and picked at the fuzz on the blanket that was draped over my lap. "There's nothing to really fight for anyways."

He was off my bed in an instant, his back turned to me, possibly trying to control his anger.

"Is the village not worth fighting for?" He said without turning to me. I opened my mouth to object but found my answer irrelevant. He continued.

"Is your family not worth fighting for?" I found my voice, and it irrupted from the back of my throat like a roar.

"What are you talking about!" I cried. I was practically barring my teeth like an animal about to pounce on a brother...only I had no brothers. "I have no family!" I confirmed.

He whirled around and smacked his hand down on my mattress. The force left a relatively small dent in the soft foam of my bed but I jumped back in surprise anyway. I stared at him with wide shocked eyes. Never had someone shocked my so without striking me, and never had I seen a look of pity/anger like the one that was laced in his expression.

"You have a large family." He attempted through gritted teeth, and then paused. The looked was still in his eyes, _er..._eye, but another emotion had joined it: Pain.

He slowly took his hand from the mattress and dropped it to his side limply.

"Baki-"

"Your family is this village. You do not see yourself the way we see you. You are

not just another kunoichi-"

"I'm not even a kunoichi anymore." I mumbled. He continued like I hadn't even spoken.

"You are a gift Daagana. You make everyone's lives better. There's no denying the fact that the world would be darker without you..." He paused and turned towards the door, and the side of his mouth pulled up slightly. "Or maybe the world would have less darkness...But either way," He said and turned back to me, "It would be different... and it would be bad."

I stared in awe at him.

"How could you possibly say that?" I chocked. My fearless armor was cracked and it shattered to reveal the broken soul behind it.

"I cause so much trouble. For you, for Gaara...for Giia." Baki swore under his breath when I said her name. My now watery eyes saw that his face was scrunched in anger...or was it pain?

"Why must you worry what she things? She never valued your opinion, why do you waste your time with hers?"

"She's my mother!" I cried desperately. But I heard it in my own voice. The doubt that coated my every word. I didn't believe it like I used to...like I wanted to.

"She is nothing of the sort. She is not qualified for that position is well ill-informed." He growled.

"Then it's my job to inform her!" I tried again to redeem myself, but again the doubt was obvious.

"It shouldn't be." Baki said quietly, and I could feel, thankfully, that the subject was closing.

Baki saw that Giia was a hopeless cause. He had heard clearly the doubt she had just realized that was in her voice, but he also knew she was stubbornly attached to her mother, as every daughter would be. As he entertained the thought, the more it made sense. If Daagana had only ever seen Giia as a mother, she had no idea what it was really like to be cared for and loved. It was a miracle that she felt for Gaara at all...but then again, that made sense too. They were drawn to each other because...well because they both had the worst childhood's imaginable. Strange how these things work. Giia's case may have been impossible, but Gaara's wasn't.

"And what of Gaara?" Baki asked after a moments pause. I openly flinched at his name. There was no way I could ever face him again. Not after I had given him up so easily. Baki noticed my action right away and quietly waited. It was apparent that he was going to sit and wait until I fessed up.

"I gave up." I whispered after a moment.

"On what?" He asked equally hushed.

"On Gaara." I answered, and then it all spilled out. Both the story and the tears.

I sobbed quietly into my own hands as I told Baki the account of what Giia had done to me. And not just last night, every night since I was five. He listened quietly, never deviating from his usual emotionless expression. But I measured his expression when he stopped breathing.

When I finished telling the story, I was nowhere near done crying, so it was only silent beside the sobs that racked my body.

"Daagana" Baki suddenly breathed. "You are utterly confused."

"About what?" I sobbed.

"Who you love more." He answered. I peeked up at his through my fingers.

"You think you love Giia, but really, you have no idea." I cringed at his words.

"Then what am I? An undecided fool?" I whispered.

"I suppose" He suddenly shrugged, and his mood lifted the unbearable veil of discomfort from the room. "But Daagana," He turned and looked at me,

_**"People Change For The One's They Love." **_

"You can change Daagana," Baki continued. Everything he said seemed to make sense. It made everything in my head click. "You don't have to stay undecided." I sighed in frustration and stared pulled my head away from my hands. They were wet with salt water, and almost trembling.

"I can't" I whispered and closed my eyes. "It's asking to much of me-"

"Do you know how much Gaara changed?" Baki threw at me. I looked up at him, confusion brimming my tears.

"He didn't change at all." I reasoned with my hoarse voice. Baki snorted loudly, and threw his head back, and I could have sworn I saw his eye roll.

"Gaara was considered a monster by everyone. Including his father. Did he ever tell you about a man named Yashamaru?" He asked hurriedly.

"No, but-"

"Yashamaru was Gaara's savior. He was the only vision of acceptance Gaara had to cling to. But it was all a facade. Yashamaru was Gaara's uncle, Gaara's mother's brother. And naturally, he held a grudge against Gaara because, his mother died giving birth to him."

I shiver sprinted up and down my spine. No one had ever bothered to tell me this story. It almost outranked mine.

"So, with his grudge, Yashamaru tried to kill Gaara." I took in a sharp breath and held it in my chest. It was defiantly worse then mine. My story was like a fairy tail compared to his.

"Of course his attempt failed, obviously, and Gaara ended up killing Yashamaru our of inexperienced defense. You know the scar on his forehead?"

"Yes, but-" I tried again but he cut me off.

"He got it that night. He gave it to himself. 'Love', he was convinced, was what had caused all his problems. It was 'Love' that killed his mother and his uncle, and he knew then and there that what the villagers said was true. He was a monster," Baki paused and glanced over at me. I was done trying to interrupt. In fact I wanted him to hurry up and get to the end. I didn't think I could take anymore.

"But that only lasted a while. Eight years maybe," Baki shrugged. My head snapped up and I stared at him.

"Mine was only 7." I whispered. He looked down at me and concluded I had reached my limit. The same limit he thought I didn't have.

"But he lived his life in the dark until someone walked in with the light. Or maybe..." His mouth pulled up at the corner again, "Maybe it's the other way around." He sighed when he saw I was confused.

"You, Daagana."

"Me?" I whispered and pointed to myself.

"Yes you." He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No; no, no, no, no." I said and waved my hands in he air. "It wasn't me, it was all Naruto." Baki shrugged.

"Naruto merely gave him the example to follow...You gave him the life to live."


	11. Rain in the Desert Only Starts Fights

Gaara leaned against the wall just inside the ramen shop. His eyes watched his brother carefully. Kankurou was all too happy to work with Ojiisan again, and was now serving the evening crowd. Gaara's eyes may have been on his brother but his thoughts were with his sister. She had come in a couple hours before and relayed a message from the hospital.

_[Flash Back_

"She won't see anyone but you." Temari pleaded with Gaara. "She's sitting in her room waiting! Why won't you go!" She cried when Gaara made no move.

"Do you think sitting here and waiting it out is going to make it any better?" She kept going on at him. "She needs help and she refuses it from anyone but you! Even me!" She cried desperately. That was something unheard of. Temari was Daagana's savior...why would she want a monster over her savior?

"Ugh! Why are you being such a coward? Why didn't you change that part of you?" She spat and stormed out of the ramen bar.

_[End FB_

Besides her tantrum, Temari had also told him that Hiniku was better and released from the hospital. Ojiisan had sent her home when she tried to come and work, so a very happy Kankurou got to keep his job.

"Hey Gaara!" Kankurou called from behind the counter. The barstools were filled and Gaara had to peer over the customer's heads to see his brother's smiling face.

"Look!" Kankurou squealed and held up his hand. "No smacks!" He proclaimed triumphantly, and then quickly went back to work before he actually received one.

Gaara's eyes lingered on his brother for a moment longer before he dropped his head and stared at the sand under his feet.

Why wouldn't he go see her? What was it that was stopping him? She wouldn't come out until she saw him, but how long was she willing to wait? How long was he going to stall and prove Temari right? How long was he going to be a coward?...

:..Later..:

"Well..." Kankurou said as he through his washrag over his shoulder and leaned against the counter that was now empty. "Are you going to stay here?" Gaara threw a tired glance his way.

"No..."

"Then are you going to the hospital?"

"No..."

"Then you're staying here." Kankurou sighed. Gaara lifted his head and stared at his brother.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You're not going home until you talk to her." Kankurou shut his eyes and shook his head. Gaara quickly looked away towards the street. How did he know they were all going to abandon him? 

"Gaara..." Kankurou looked over his little brother. He was still leaning up against the wall like he had been all night. "We're not abandoning you. You're abandoning her..." Kankurou heard a sharp intake of breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried again.

"Gaara...She loves you..."

Kankurou left after waiting too long for an answer. Too long meaning, too many endless seconds, too many unwanted thoughts, and too many uncanny feelings about just one subject. And it was all too much for Gaara...

Kankurou sighed again as he entered his home. The whole way he had been sighing, stopping, then continuing on again. He never made a move to turn around but his mind was widely beating against it. As he trudged through the foyer into the kitchen, a sudden urge beat in his chest, and he looked up quickly. But the kitchen empty...

**Flash Back**

"Kankurou!" Daagana squealed happily as he entered the kitchen. It was after one of those longs days training, and his stomach was completely empty.

"Hey, Gana! What's for lunch?" She giggled like usual and brought out a bento and handed it to him. The small box was warm and smelled like heaven.

"Don't just stand there!" She cried and pushed him to the table. "Eat it before you pass out!" Kankurou quickly obliged, but as he shoveled food in his mouth, he paused.

"Didn't Temari say you weren't allowed to cook?" Daagana got a guilty look, and came around to stand by him.

"You won't tell her will you? Please don't tell her! She'll get really mad at me! And it's really scary when Temari's mad!" She begged. Kankurou only laughed with food hanging out of his mouth.

"If I told on you, I'd go hungry!" She laughed again, the one Kankurou knew melted Gaara's heart every time. The one that sounded like bells chiming.

"Do want anymore?" she asked, and motioned to his empty bento.

"Heck yes I do!" He said and held up his box.

**End FB**

But there was no bento for her to fill today. Abruptly he was pulled from his thoughts when someone entered the house and slammed the door behind them. 'Temari...' Kankurou thought, as he went to greet his sister.

"I know what you're gonna say and I don't want to hear it." She snapped when she saw him. She tore off her fan and it crashed into the ground beside the couch she face-planted in.

Kankurou let out a heavy sigh and walked over to where his sister was. He sat down on the edge of the couch and looked at the back of her head.

"You don't know what I was gonna say." He whispered finally.

"Wanna bet?" She turned her head to look at him. She had that nasty evil sister glare that she got sometimes. When she didn't want to glare but was defiantly pissed at something.

"I told Gaara he couldn't come home until he saw her." Her glared softened to a stare.

"You...said that?" She whispered and quickly sat up to stare at him. Kankurou nodded grimly.

"I didn't know what I was doing. The words just came out..." Temari's look was guilty as ever as she reached out and clutched her brother's shoulder. The siblings sat in stunned silence for a long time...neither was willing to move, and neither thought moving would have done anything to stop the pieces that were already in play. What's said is said and there wasn't any taking them back, Kankurou knew that. The only thing the brother and sister could do now was hope and pray that Gaara's heart wasn't completely made of stone.

**::.Hours Later.::**

The odd hours of the night were always the times when Gaara couldn't think. It was those most vulnerable hours that were clouded with endless sleepless dreams about the love of his life, which was at the moment, incarcerated in her hospital room. Truly his life had come to an end. Daagana wouldn't move until he went to her, he was too much of a coward to actually go to her, and Giia was free to celebrate her victory.

His steps were slow as he trudged his usual path around the village. Ever since he had been nominated for Kazekage he had take the same path...His watch if you will. He kept watch over the village as the unlucky shadow in the night that nobody noticed, and nobody cared for. But it had been so long since he had actually believed that. In fact...Ever since she had come into his life, his mind happily forgot all it's troubles and took on hers. Although their troubles were quite different, they held the same side effects...But unlike him, Daagana was more like Naruto. She had someone who saved her, before she turned into another him. Another Gaara...another monster.

"Perhaps she would like it better in Konoha." Gaara muttered bitterly.

Suddenly, before Gaara knew what was happening, his was propelled to the right with a large amount of sand covering his left side. He crashed to the ground a few feet away from where he had been standing. As quickly as he could, he got to his feet and scanned the area. How could have not sensed anyone? He looked around again, and found nothing. What is going on?

_**BOOM!**_

A second attack hit him in the back. His sand wasn't having any trouble with the speed, but it was buckling under the force. Gaara had never been hit this hard, as he flew forward.

Gaara lay on his stomach with his arms sprawled out. His sand quietly hovered close by, ready to take on another attack.

"I'm sure that I couldn't have taken you down so easily, Kazekage-sama."

That voice! Gaara's head began to spin.

"I think you've surprised him enough." Another voice came. It was lower then the first, darker...

"He needed a good scaring. He didn't come visit me at all!" The first complained.

"It was his choice."

"Well he chose wrong."

Baki looked down at Daagana. She had an unpleasant look on her face, but by no means was she mad. It seems he had spent the whole day with this young woman, and he figured he knew her well enough by now. She had no real intention of harming Gaara...not that she could in the first place. But she just wanted to get his attention. Since he wouldn't go and see her, she went and attacked him. And eye for an eye perhaps.

"You can go now, Baki." She said quietly.

"I'm not so sure." He said and crossed his arms in his usual disapproving position.

"I can't hurt him. Like wise both ways." She stated.

"I'm more worried about the buildings then you're bodies or state of mind." Daagana gave him a look, and he sighed.

"Do not destroy the village. Gaara has to lead it soon." And with that, Baki turned and slowly left them standing.

"Gaara?" I said quietly. I took a step towards his body. He couldn't even be knocked out on account of the Shukaku coming out and killing everybody. Was he lying there?

"Gaara? Are you alright?" I squatted down beside him, and placed my hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly his shoulder gave way, and his body followed. It turned brown and fell apart and the sand blew away.

"A sand clone?" I recoiled and jumped to my feet.

"I understand why I didn't sense any chakra." A voice echoed behind me. I spun around and stared in awe at him.

"You don't use any chakra when using your curse. Therefore," He said as the wind played with his red hair, "You can make a perfect ambush."

His gaze was heavy on my guilty form.

"You ambushed me." He commented.

"Well, you wouldn't come and visit me." I snapped back.

_Touché_.

He didn't exactly know how to respond to that and now that I had cornered him it was time to pounce.

"I don't know why you wouldn't come...but I know why I left."

Gaara didn't say anything.

"Something was wrong, at the camp." I tried to explain myself.

"I didn't even think before I left and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be Giia. There was just..." I trailed off into the utter silence.

"Why did you not inform Temari or Kankurou?" He asked.

"I was afraid they were in on it." Another one to throw him out of his comfort zone.

"What do you-"

"I knew about plan." I cut him off hurriedly. "I knew from the start that you didn't want me to be a ninja, and the Konoha Villagers just seemed like a prime thing to taddle on. It was written all over your face, Gaara. And even though it hurt...I understood."

It never occurred to Gaara that he was so...so...so obvious! If his emotions were written plain as day on his face, what had everybody else seen?

"But even though I knew, and understand...I want to know why you didn't come. It's...hurting me." I finally admitted.

The wind blew past us with a sharp snap and brought with it a strange sense. The dark street we stood in was wide and long and I could see all the way to the poor side. I glanced up the other way and I could see the better side, where the Kazekage's mansion was.

I had seen both sides of an extremely limited life. I knew what it meant to love and I knew how it felt to lose it. But even with my vast experiences with pain...why was it that his unwavering silence stung more then any of Giia's blows? Why did his untimely neglect towards me hurts 100x more then Giia's ever did? She was my mother! Why did I care more about what Gaara thought then my own mother?!

_**(Flash Back)**_

"Daagana" Baki suddenly breathed. "You are utterly confused."

"About what?" I sobbed.

"Who you love more." He answered. I peeked up at his through my fingers.

"You think you love Giia, but really, you have no idea." I cringed at his words.

"Then what am I? An undecided fool?" I whispered.

"I suppose" He suddenly shrugged, and his mood lifted the unbearable veil of discomfort from the room. "But Daagana," He turned and looked at me,

"People Change For The One's They Love."

_**Drip...**_

"But who? Who would love me?" I asked. Suddenly...the wind blew so strong that sand blew into my room. It stung at my eyes, and got into my nose and mouth. I coughed and sputtered.

"What was that supposed to mean?" I cried, as I slammed my window door shut.

_**Drip...**_

"You...would do that...for me?" Gaara stuttered. I lifted my head and looked at him.

"Of course I would." There was a short pause, then he said,

"But…why?" I smiled up at him and rested me head on his shoulder again.

"Why else?"

_**Drip...**_

This whole freaking time! I gasped as my own realization. It had been right under my nose the whole time! Wow...I'm really naïve. I quietly shook my head. Suddenly something tapped the top of my head. I was startled at first, but as I turned my eyes to the sky, I realized something else. I wasn't naïve...I was down right stupid.

"I didn't go because I didn't..." My head snapped down to stare at Gaara. Gaara...

Slowly Gaara took a deep breath. He wasn't gonna be able to do this. Negativity flooded his thoughts, worse yet, feelings of rejection already started to tear at his mind. Suddenly his hands began to shake and they turned unexpectedly clammy. He felt like he was about to suffocate in open air...even though it wasn't very open anymore, strange things were falling from the sky, but that wasn't the point. It was everything...he was just so...Nervous. For the first time in his life, he was unreasonably, undeniably and uncharacteristically nervous.

"I didn't go because I didn't..." I held my breath and waited for an eternity.

"Because I didn't know what to say." He finished. I took in a shaky breath and watched his hands fidget as his side.

"I didn't go because I didn't..." I held my breath and waited for an eternity.

"Because I didn't know what to say." He finished. I took in a shaky breath and watched his hands fidget as his side.

"The mob gave me an opportunity and I took it. I never thought..." He studied me like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"You never thought I knew you as well as I did." I commented quietly.

No on had ever known him well at all.

Drip- 

No one ever bothered.

Drip- 

No one ever cared enough.

Drip- 

No one but me...

No I got it! Holy freaking crap, now I got it! He thought I didn't love him!

Now he's the stupid one! Something else suddenly hit my face. I wiped it away but I was sure I wasn't crying.

"What the..."

He had made her cry again. Somehow, someway he had managed to make her weep in his presence. Only...he never knew why.

"Why are you crying?" He asked softly. Something in his chest was squeezing him and making it hard for him to breath. It wasn't fair! He hadn't even done anything!

"Why!" He screamed and flew forward. He grasped her shoulders and shook until he himself was on the verge of tears. Gaara's pitiful cries for understanding echoed up and down the street that split the village in half.

"I'm not crying." I said, and grabbed his shoulders just as hard as he was grabbing mine. "I am not crying anymore."

How ironic the situation was. It was raining in the desert and an abused was clutching a killer. What's more, neither budged as unsuspecting villagers flooded out into the streets and marveled up at the sky. Since it was a rare sight to see water fall from the sky.

"It's about freaking time!" Hiniku screamed from the roof of a building off to the side. Temari ignored her and started at the dark clouds. This was so weird. The last time she had seen rain it was in Konoha, never Suna!

"Pretty cool isn't it?" Kankurou asked his sister. She looked down at him and smirked.

"Your make-up is running." And thus sent him into a panic.

"What is this?" Gaara's head tilted towards the heavens.

"The sky is crying for us." I responded as our eyes scanned upwards. "But it doesn't have to anymore."

"Why not?" He asked. Finally, a smile spread across my lips.

"Because I love you! That's why!"

_**Next Morning**_

He woke me up the next morning with gentle kiss on my cheek and muttering my name. I sprawled out on the pillows of his unused bed and fell utterly into peace.

"Daagana..." His breath tickled my ear. I giggled happily and smiled at him. He proceeded to kiss me for the millionth time and I kissed back.

Temari sighed happily as she ate her breakfast. Everything was perfect! Daagana and Gaara were up stairs doing god knows what, Kankurou had stayed at the ramen bar with Hiniku, who was all better now that Daagana was happy and everything was working out for the better.

GONG!

Temari jumped.

"Doorbell..." She muttered and got up to answer the door. She got as far as the kitchen entrance before she saw one of the maids unbolt and pull open the door.

Oh how Temari hated it when she was wrong. Bad Bad Bad! Gaara and Gana upstairs, Bad! Kankurou gone, Bad! Her unstable temper...somewhat good but how could he forget the most pressing matter of all!

As the door easily slid open, Giia's face lifted evilly. She wore a bonnet thing and some floral dress complete with a wicker basket. She looked typical...and innocent. Up until the point that she snatched a kunai from her basket and proceeded to assault the mansion.

The maid who opened the door fell dead behind Giia as she charged the main corridor.

"This house will be mine!" She screeched at the top of her lungs and lunged and Temari, weapons ready.

"This house will be mine!"

Gaara and I both bolted upright. We looked at each other and the next moment the bed was empty. I pulled on my clothe in a frenzy and by the time I looked back Gaara was ready and heading for the door.

When we stepped out onto the balcony, we both heard the sounds of a battle raging downstairs.

Temari avoided kunai and shuriken but it was all she could do to block. In the early morning she didn't like to carry around her Kyodai Sensu ((Giant Fan)) and it as her only means of offense. While attacking, Giia kept this smug sadistic smile on her face that made Temari seriously consider learning some new jutsu.

"Temari!" I screamed from the balcony. She didn't turn to look at me, only stayed focused on her battle with my mother. My mother! I could hardly watch as she attacked my best friend. Beside me, Gaara growled and the cork on his gourd suddenly shot through a wall. I watched him quietly and my features fell slightly. I, for once, saw him the way I had heard of him...angry and unstable.

"Gaara..." I whispered. His beady eyes darted over to me. As they lingered on my they simmered until they melted back to his normal expression.

"Did I frighten you?" He asked after a moment. The clash of weapons echoed below us as Temari somehow conjured up her fan and started her counterattack.

"No Gaara..." I answered and stared down at the battle. "It wasn't you that frightened me."

It was losing.

I never understood how someone of her size could contain so much hatred! And just for me! I never understood until I jumped down from the balcony and landed in the middle of Temari's fight, intending on starting my own.

Temari stumbled around behind me until all was silent...only to be interrupted by Giia's speratic breathing and the steady sway of the desert sand.

That swaying sand wasn't helping me much now though, as I faced my mother in a battle I had dreamt of all my life. Now more then ever I wished I had gotten Temari to give me some sort of training. Stupid Sand! It was making me jittery, but my mother's glare was steady and even, as sharp as the kunai she held ready to murder me with.

"My little Daagana..." She purred and took a step to the side. "You really want to fight me again?" She snickered and took another step and before I knew it, we were circling each other like two rival animals.

I sneered at her over confidence. I had learned too much about cocky ninja to over look the one before me now...not that Giia was actually a ninja but only god knows where she got the kunai!

Gaara watched helplessly from the sidelines of the balcony. Temari sat on her heels beside him, equally as uncomfortable.

"Why didn't you just kill her?" Gaara questioned. Temari shook her head.

"It wasn't my place to kill her. No matter how much I wanted to. Besides..." Temari stood slowly. "If I had, Daagana would never be free."

_**Heck Yes Fight Scene**_

I could hear my heart pound in my ears, and it was giving me a headache...that and the deathly aura Giia was spitting at me. I shot a hesitant glance up at Gaara and Temari, but they knew just as well as I that this was my battle and no matter how much I didn't want to...I had to fight it.

The next thing I knew, a kunai whirled past me, slicing off an inch of my hair. I eyes the black strands that stuck in the wall barley an inch from my ear, then turned my eyes quickly to where it had come.

"I'm still here Daagana." Giia hummed triumphantly. "And you are of no further use to me!"

It had finally come down to this. Kill or be killed, and I knew that this was the time. I was gonna kill that woman! For all the years of abuse and neglect, she was now going to die by the same curse she had ruined my life with!

I moved swiftly to the side, enshrouding myself in shadows. I smiled as Giia's face changed from hatred to confusion. With every step my mother took, I followed inching closed. A floorboard creaked and Giia was on alert and threw another kunai at me. Her lips curled up into an ugly smirk again.

"You can't hide from me you little monster."

I winced at her words. Why was I the monster? She was more of a monster that I was! Suddenly rage overcame my logic of battle and I kinda...freaked out. I conjured up some darkness and shot it at her. It sailed thought the air hitting Giia square in the chest. Just the general force of the blow threw her across the room, but she landed in a small wooded chair that Hiniku used to sit in sometimes. It immediately shattered under her weight, and I took it as a small sign.

'She destroys memories...'

I took a hesitant step forward, and stared at her body in a daze. Did I already kill her? Could it seriously have been that easy? She no longer moved to take in air and her eyes were closed and deathly still.

"Did I..." Both my hands flew up to my mouth to keep me from saying it.

Temari looked over at Gaara.

"It couldn't have been that easy...could it?" He shook his head 'no' and looked back down only to see Daagana inching towards her mother's body.

"Daagana! What are you doing!?" Temari snapped. She looked back up at him with a weak smile.

"I need to know she's dead."

I uneasily bent down and pressed my fore and middle finger against the side of Giia's neck. There was a soft pounding...and the next thing I felt in that second was a searing pain in my stomach and an unusual wetness. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around my mid-section, knowing full well that I was already bleeding greatly. In front of me, Giia stood and laughed in her sickening way.

"Look how gullible you are!" She cackled and lifted her foot to kick me across the room.

"Gana!" Temari screamed and almost threw herself over the edge of the banister. Daagana's body landed with a thud, but like any true ninja, she wasn't down for long. She picked herself up and stared at her mother.

"You stabbed me." I uttered and coughed up a little blood. She gave me a crack lipped grin.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I grunted loudly as I pulled her kunai out of my abdomen. Pulling it out only undamed a fresh flow of blood that pooled at my feet and the kunai clattered to the floor.

Giia triumphantly walked over to the door and wrenched out the lodged kunai she first thrown at me. She hummed a haunting laugh and gripped the kunai.

"Why are you just standing there?" She mocked. "Attack me!"

She flashed from her place so quickly I could barley make her out as she threw her kunai in my direction. A blur of metal was all I could make out, and it was coming so fast I had no time to react. I just threw up my hands and shut my eyes...but nothing happened. I squinted one eyes and the only thing I saw was lots and lots of...sand.


	12. The Final

Recap

She flashed from her place so quickly I could barley make her out as she threw her kunai in my direction. A blur of metal was all I could make out, and it was coming so fast I had no time to react. I just threw up my hands and shut my eyes...but nothing happened. I squinted one eyes and the only thing I saw was lots and lots of...sand.

Story Time

"You interfered." Temari looked over at Gaara. Down below Daagana was encased in a ball of sand and Giia was circling it like a confused animal. Temari eyes Giia menacingly, but Gaara was more focused on the ball of chakra he was swirling. His one hand was outstretched towards the battle and the other was placed over his right eye.

"How is she?" Temari asked. There was a short pause.

"Furious."

"Let me out!" I screamed and banged my fists against the wall of sand.

"Gaara! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!"

In a flurry of rage, I balled up a shell of darkness and blew it up to the size of the bubble I was encased in. The final outcome was the sand couldn't strain enough and blew like a balloon full of helium, bun instead darkness leaked out all over the room. It swelled up on the balcony floor like a mist and pooled at Gaara and Temari's feet.

"This is..." Temari stepped in and out of it like dirty water. Gaara stood still and nodded.

"Her curse."

Giia was confused. What was this that flowed around her feet? It was like those odd incidents that used to happen before.

Suddenly Daagana flew through the cloud and delivered a vicious roundhouse kick to Giia's face. She flew backwards into another puff of black were Daagana was completely invisible. Giia stood quickly to her feet, spitting blood and sand out of her mouth as her tired eyes tried to adjust to the uncommon darkness.

Suddenly she heard:

"I am done with you." Her daughter's voice echoed through the shadows. It reverberated all around and Giia turned in circles trying to find the source. She spotted a flash and charged. Her kunai sliced into Daagana's arm and below then started to turn red as the two of them whirled in battle, lunging and screaming and Gaara was about to go crazy!

"Can you see them?" He asked and paced up and down the balcony. "Can you see them?" Temari shop him a glance. Since when did he get anxious?

"Blow it away!" Gaara suddenly said and grabbed for Temari's fan.

"No!" She pulled it away from his reach. "It's her cover! I'm not gonna sacrifice her only advantage just so you can watch!" Gaara fidgeted but saw the truth in her words. What was his deal anyway?

Both women had kunai, both were bleeding, both were tired and both were gasping, but neither was about to back down.

Giia kicked Daagana's weak hand and she lost her grip on the kunai. Giia snatched up the fallen weapon and wasted no time to hold both, Daagana's and her own, to her daughter's neck. In a desperate attempt, Daagana pulled a dull shuriken from her pouch and thrust it deep into her mother's thigh. She screeched and dropped both knives and could barley dodge as Daagana threw two more in her direction.

She had gotten the shuriken from Kankurou. He had never used them and they were dull with the lack of use. But despite that, they flew just as well. One sliced into Giia's neck and as she threw her hands up to protect herself the second sliced at her risen fingers. Daagana laughed darkly as blood pooled on the floorboards of the Kazekage Mansion.

The darkness was growing thicker as the two sand siblings stared on in horror. Even though they couldn't see anything, they could hear _everything_. The black cloud that engulfed their home was like an amplifier to the sounds of flesh being torn and bones snapping.

"This can't be good..." Temari stammered. Gaara noticed how tightly her hands were clutching the banister. Heck, he noticed how sweaty his palms were. Something wasn't right.

In the clouds below Giia was obviously not winning the fight she though once to be an easy victory. Then, right as Daagana could have finished her off once and for all, out of desperation and a little bit of fear I would imagine, Giia upped and limped quickly away. She tumbled down the stairs into the parlor a level down. Who knew these places had parlors? The wonders of what money can buy. But Daagana was a bit too tipsy on darkness to notice or care.

She followed her mother down with every intention on making her die slowly. But as she entered the room a long fire spit sank into the wall beside her head. De ja vu?

"I'm starting you think you're not trying to hit me." She said and gripped the spit. It was already slippery from Giia's now stubby fingers but Daagana tossed it from hand to hand playfully.

"Ready?" She asked sarcastically. Giia straightened as much as she could.

"I suppose I've had my share of fun." For a moment they just stared at each other. Perhaps there were good times they had. Some memories that were relished in the back of their minds...but better left forgotten.

"Are you ready?" Giia asked. There was another pause.

"No. Never."

Gaara watched his brother and sister as they bickered back and forth. Wear this, do your hair like that, and for God's sake, someone steal Kankurou's make-up kit! What an uproar they caused when they heard there was a celebration on the horizon.

Quietly, a door off to the side opened and Hiniku walked in. She shot Gaara one of those looks before going to fuss over Kankurou's Kabuki up do. Gaara sighed and exited the room unnoticed.

He found her on the roof like always. She stood on the side of the building that faced away from the rest of the village and opened up to the gateways of heaven. The sunset was always spectacular and it had been Gaara's favorite spot...except Daagana's bedroom. But now the spot was no longer his...it was hers. She stood calmly, or she was just pretending because she knew he was watching, with her back to him and her arms wrapped around herself.

Gaara had seen her in this position countless times since Giia...died. She wouldn't let them say anything else. Giia simply died. Nothing about the fight, nothing about her curse, nothing about the blood that still haunted his dreams...nothing. Only her unexpected sobs at night and her elevated heart rate every time she caught sight of the poor side. Only that for the past _month_! Seemingly he had thought that all problems would cease once Giia was out of the picture. He thought he and Daagana could finally be together, but the way Daagana was now reminded him of himself...back when he had nothing to live for, and he prayed night and day that she would be nothing like him.

"Daagana..." Gaara said. His voice carried over the roof as he took a couple of steps forward. She turned her head slightly and he halted.

"Dozo ((Please))..." He muttered. "Talk to me." He heard her say something and it only gave him the excuse to advance a few steps to hear what she was saying.

"What about?" She asked.

"Anything...Just let me hear your voice again." He took a couple more steps.

"Why is it _my_ voice you wish?" She stressed the word 'my'.

"Because..." But Gaara found no reason beyond his own selfish desires.

"Because why?" She muttered. But when it took him more then 10 seconds to answer, she spun to face him. "Because why!" She cried, her face flushed red in a flurry of anger.

"Why do you care? Why does anyone care?" she threw her arms in the air. "Why _should_ anyone care? I don't deserve to be cared about!" Her eyes darted around furiously as she huffed.

Gaara's eyes clouded over with a grey of sadness as he saw her pitiful state of being. They had had this conversation a hundred times already and this was usually the part where he would leave, but he was tired of this.

"You are _not_ a murderer." Gaara said sternly. " If you are anything, you are a hero. Ridding our village of a villain like her..." He gestured in the open air and thoughts of Giia bubbles up inside them both.

"A...villain?" She muttered and her expression drew a blank. "She was a villain?" It was almost like she couldn't believe her own words.

"Yes, a villain." Gaara answered a little too sharply. "She cursed you, she cursed me, and she cursed us. As long as she was alive we could never have been-" Gaara suddenly realized what he was saying.

"...Together."

Of course they were only together for one night before Daagana killed Giia...only one night and it had been so long ago. Gaara sighed.

"It's been so long...to long since I've heard you laugh, or seen you smile or..." Gaara reached out and brushed his fingers across her shoulder. She recoiled away from him like he had stung her. "...Touched your skin."

She stepped away from him little by little until she was too far away for him to touch. She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to shield herself from the world.

"Please Daagana..." Gaara realized tat he was begging, but in the current situation he was sure he could care less for his pride. "It's been to long and cannot wait any longer." He extended his hand towards her but she shrank away.

"Why?" She mumbled.

Gaara, agitated now, cursed rather loudly.

"We've been over this already for Christ's sake! Now come and touch me before I explode!" There was no other way to phrase it, but when the words left his mouth he felt utterly foolish.

Her face was...priceless. Never in a million years would she have expected those words to come from him. 'Before he explodes'? Was that really Gaara speaking? Or the ghost that had been haunting her for a month now? No...This was too funny to be anything but what it was!

It started off as a low rumble in her chest, but it transformed and grew into an undying laughter accompanied by tears. Tears of joy, tears of sadness and the like. She clutched her stomach and died of the laughter Gaara's ears had been begging to hear.

"Daagana..." Gaara said, but something was wrong. He sounded different even to his own ears. Suddenly he felt an odd sensation...like butterflies in his stomach.

"Does anyone hear that? Or is it just me?" Kankurou suddenly said in the middle of the conversation. Both Temari and Hiniku stopped to listen. 'What is that?'

"Hey, has anyone checked on Gaara and Gana?" Hiniku asked, but she had that familiar twinge to her voice. They exchanged the usual sly glances back and forth and slipped up the stairs, Baki following behind.

The door to the roof was open and the small group of ninja moved like ninja's up the stairs and onto the terrace. Over on the opposite side stood Gaara and Daagana...dying of laughter? Daagana was laughing so hard she was crying and just the sight of Gaara smiling was too much for Kankurou.

"What the heck is going on!?" He cried and about pulled out his hair. "Who are you and what have you done with my little bro-"

Suddenly Kankurou flew back down the stairs and Temari followed.

"Serves you right for spying." Baki smirked as Hiniku patted her hands together.

"What!" Temari cried while trying to untwistify herself from her brother. "It was her idea."

Hiniku just shook her head and motioned for Baki to walk down before she shut the door behind her.

"Come." Gaara said later. He stretched his hand out towards me and said, "Come with me."

My mind was running a thousand miles an hour and it was about time I shut it off. I took his hand and everything melted away. All I saw was Gaara. He was all I wanted and all I needed. Just Gaara...this was when I had been waiting for. My hand felt so good brushing up against his course tan skin and I came to the quick conclusion that I was never gonna let go.

Gaara watched his brother and sister bicker with each other. Blah blah blah. All the same as before. Quietly, a door behind them creaked open and he turned to watch Baki come in.

Baki quietly surveyed each ninja before him; his students all returned the gesture. _His _students, and _**5**_ of his students. Oh, the simple pleasures in life. Three of the most powerful kunoichi in the village and the 2 sons of the Kazekage were all his subordinates and oh, how he could never live it down.

"Ahem." He coughed after a moment of gloating to himself. "It is time."

Daagana took her place beside Gaara, Hiniku stood behind her and Temari and Kankurou behind her. Nervously, Daagana slipped her hand into Gaara's and gave it a squeeze. Gaara looked over at her and for a long moment they just stared at each other.

"Well...let's get a move on before they change their mind!" Temari laughed from the back of the line.

"WE HEARBY PLACE THE BIRTHRIGHT OF THE SHADOW OF THE WIND ON SABAKU NO GAARA, WHO HAS JUSTLY EARNED THE TITLE OF HIS FATHER."

The head elder shouted out to the village. Everyone had come out to watch as the succession was passed from father to son. Usually, thought, as Gaara stood there thinking, the mention of his father would have made his blood boil, but when the elder spoke of him, he felt no anger. All he felt was the soft squeeze on his hand and an odd pulse from his forehead. Not a single wave of hatred echoed from the Shukaku...and Gaara found it unusual.

He waited, though, until it was his turn to speak, to sneak a peek over at Daagana. She returned the gesture and in front of the whole village, their secret revealed it's self.

"Gaara...I love you." And before either of them could think, they were making out in front of all Suna.

Behind them, Hiniku put her hand out. Both grumbling, Temari and Kankurou slapped down 10 coins each in her waiting palm.

"Thank you." She smirked and on the other side Baki chuckled. "Hey," She grunted. "You too buddy. Pay up." She smiled broadly as he slapped down his own 10 coins. "Arigato."

"Money has no worth to me anyway." He grunted.

"Then what does?" Hiniku inquired.

"That." He gestured before him.

"That is something special." She agreed. "And semi-embarrassing." She added.

"They'll get over it." Baki shrugged. It'll just be a story to tell their kids.


End file.
